^TSTl  fST^ST!  |*^^vr 


THE   LIBRARY  OF 
USEFUL   STORIES 


F  THE  EAST 

BY 

E..  ANDERSON 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFOR 

Class 


THE 
LIBRARY  OF  USEFUL  STORIES 


THE   MOABITE    STONE. 


See  fifigp  22. 


THE    STORY    OF 

EXTINCT    CIVILIZATIONS 

OF   THE    EAST 


BY 

ROBERT   E.   ANDERSON,   M.A.,   F.A.S. 

AUTHOR  OF  EARLY  ENGLAND,  THE  STUART  PERIOD,  ETC. 


NEW   YORK   AND    LONDON 

D.    APPLETON    AND    COMPANY 

1909 


COPYRIGHT,  1896, 
BY  D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

INTRODUCTION 9 

I.  ORIGIN  AND  RACES  OF  MANKIND        ...      13 
II.  CHALDEA  AND  BABYLONIA 23 

III  ANCIENT  EGYPT          .        .        .        ...        .45 

IV  HITTITES,  PHOENICIANS,  AND  HEBREWS    .        .      67 
V,  THE  ARABS 108 

VI.  IRAN  OR  ANCIENT  PERSIA 138 

INDEX 209 


193711 


MAPS,    ETC. 


PAGE 

The  Moabite  Stone.  .....      Frontispiece. 

Hieroglyph         .         .         .         .         .         ...         .         .     IO 

Cuneiform  inscription 27 

Map— Egypt .45 

Hieroglyph         .........     60 

Map— Khita 68 

— Spain      . 109 

"    — Iran         .........  139 


"  ...  A  noble  end  it  is  to  inquire  into  the 
remains  of  long-departed  races,  and  to  inquire, 
not  by  theory  and  conjecture,  but  by  an  exam- 
ination of  actual  facts/' 

PROF.  MAHAFFY,  D.  D. 

"  He  says  it  is  part  of  his  creed  that  history 
is  poetry  could  we  tell  it  aright." 

EMERSON,  speaking  of  CARLYLE. 


EXTINCT    CIVILIZATIONS    OF 
THE   EAST. 


INTRODUCTION. 

IN  the  present  century  two  events,  which  at 
the  time  seemed  unimportant,  have  vastly  increased 
our  knowledge  regarding  several  very  early  king- 
doms and  empires  which,  to  the  ancient  and  me- 
diaeval historians,  were  known  only  by  name.  In 
1802,  the  Rosetta  Stone  was  brought  to  England, 
and  presented  by  George  III.  to  the  British  Mu- 
seum. Only  a  rude  block  of  black  basalt,  though 
called  "  a  priceless  jewel  "  by  the  archaeologists, 
it  bears  an  inscription  in  three  languages ;  and  as 
soon  as  one  of  these,  written  in  "  hieroglyphs,'1 
was,  by  means  of  the  other  two,  interpreted  by 
Young  and  Champollion,  a  key  was  put  in  our 
hands  to  open  the  sealed  book  of  Egypt's  mighty 
past  by  reading  the  records  on  her  numberless 
monuments.  Thus  the  "  wisdom  of  Egypt,"  so 
long  inscrutable,  became  known,  and  a  new  sci- 
ence arose  called  Egyptology.  The  second  event 
was  in  1842,  when  M.  Botta  was  sent  as  French 
envoy  to  the  banks  of  the  Tigris,  and  began  to 
dig  for  Assyrian  antiquities.  His  unexpected  suc- 
cess, reinforced  soon  after  by  the  more  famous 
explorations  of  Layard,  led  to  the  building  up  of 
a  second  new  science,  Assyriology,  which  includes 
9 


10        EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE   EAST. 

many  .chapters  relating  to  the  extinct  civilization 
of  Babylonia — the  precursor  of  war-like  Assyria, 
her  great  mother  in  letters,  art,  and  science. 

'  The  following  cut  shows  the  symbols  con- 
tained in  one  of  the  cartouches  on  the  Rosetta 
Stone,  and  is  read  from  left  to  right,  as  we  read 
words  in  modern  English,  &c. 

HIEROGLYPH.  ENGLISH. 


p 

L 

O              A  I  O    S 

T 

M 

i.  e.  PTOLEMAIOS,  the  Greek  name  of  the  King  Ptolemy.  Each 
symbol  represents  a  letter,  viz.,  the  initial  letter  of  the  name  of  the 
object  pictured.  The  objects  in  order  are — a  mat,  a  half-circle,  a 
noose,  a  lion,  a  hole,  two  reeds,  and  a  chair-back.  The  first  object 
(mat,  or  door  according  to  <c  me)  =  p,  that  being  the  first  letter  of 
the  Egyptian  word  ;  the  noose  or  loop  =  o  ;  the  lion  =  /  or  r  ;  the 
object  under  the  lion  represents  a  hole,  the  first  letter  of  the  name 
in  Egyptian  being  m  ;  the  last  object  =  s.  The  language  of  the 
hieroglyphs  is  generally  Coptic  rather  than  ancient  Egyptian. 

The  hieroglyphic  and  cuneiform  inscriptions 
of  Egypt  and  Mesopotamia  having  revealed  with 
vivid  actuality  the  history  of  long-forgotten  races, 
curiosity  was  stimulated  to  explore  many  other 
places  which  might  probably  have  also  been  cen- 
tres of  extinct  civilization,  even  if  of  less  impor- 
tance. In  1865,  Professor  Lepsius  exhumed  at 
Zoan  a  tablet  older  than  the  Rosetta  Stone,  bear- 
ing an  inscription  in  two  languages — Greek  and 
hierogylphic — and  affording  fresh  information  as 
to  the  extinct  written  tongue.  Mariette,  another 
great  explorer,  found  inscriptions  giving  the  his- 
tory of  an  Ethiopian  invasion  of  Egypt,  which 
occurred  "about  a  generation  before  Isaiah,"  and 
much  other  information.  To  pass  to  a  very  differ- 
ent country,  we  find  what  surprising  results  re- 
warded the  energy  of  Dr.  Schliemann  in  digging 


INTRODUCTION.  1 1 

up  the  site  of  ancient  Troy.  The  Troy  of  King 
Priam  had  been  burnt  ages  before  the  time  of 
Homer,  but  the  explorations  proved  that  there 
had  been  five  or  six  cities  on  the  site,  one  after 
the  other,  each  leaving  human  traces  of  successive 
periods  "  reaching  from  the  most  remote  antiquity 
into  the  decline  of  the  Roman  Empire."  Much 
of  the  pottery  found  in  the  lowest  layers  of  this 
town  is  quite  different  from  the  most  ancient 
ware  found  in  Greece,  and  by  comparison  with 
that  found  at  Mycenae  is  -believed  to  be  of  the 
age  1000  B.C.  at  least.  In  the  royal  tombs  of  the 
latter  place,  he  found  prehistoric  relics  of  many 
kinds,  such  as  beautiful  ornaments,  artistic  vessels 
and  grotesque  sculptures  on  stone.  Here  and 
there  were  evidences  of  Oriental  and  Egyptian 
art,  and  some  engraved  gems  "  pointed  unmis- 
takably "  to  similar  Babylonian  or  Hittite  orna- 
ments. 

From  the  inscriptions  in  Egypt  and  Asia,  as 
well  as  from  other  antiquarian  explorations,  much 
has  been  learned,  not  only  of  the  extinct  civiliza- 
tions of  Egypt  and  Babylonia,  but  also  of  the  Hit- 
tites,  who  had  previously  received  scarcely  any 
attention,  the  Phoenicians,  Hebrews,  Arabians,  and 
other  neighbouring  races,  some  nomadic  and 
some  semi-civilized.  Many  valuable  additions 
have  also  been  made  to  the  history  of  ancient 
Persia,  by  decyphering  rock-inscriptions. 

A  glance  at  his  maps  will  easily  show  the  stu- 
dent of  physical  geography  why  Egypt,  Baby- 
lonia, Hindustan,  China,  and  other  smaller  areas 
naturally  become  centres  of  population,  wealth, 
and  civilization.  From  the  remotest  ages,  as  men 
began  to  form  communities,  they  gravitated  un- 
consciously towards  any  district  where  food  was 


12        EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE  EAST. 

easily  got,  and  where  the  climate  and  other  sur- 
roundings were  favourable  to  life  and  comfort. 
Thus  in  the  Nile  Valley,  the  whole  country  is  re- 
newed every  year  in  summer  by  a  contribution  of 
rich,  alluvial  mud  brought  down  from  Central 
Africa  and  Abyssinia.  For  countless  centuries, 
therefore,  the  people  have  been  agricultural,  with 
no  labour  except  sowing,  watering  and  reaping. 
Similarly  the  magnificent  plain,  called  Mesopo- 
tamia by  the  Greeks,  was  fertilized  by  the  Tigris 
and  Euphrates  supplying  virgin  soil  from  the 
Highlands  of  Armenia,  and  attracted  settlers  from 
the  surrounding  lands.  Of  all  those  primeval 
settlers,  the  chief,  according  to  the  cuneiform 
writings,  were  the  Akkadian  people  from  the 
northeast,  the  founders  of  the  Babylonian  civili- 
zation, at  some  date  too  early  to  be  ascertained. 
China,  again,  has  attracted  population  from  an 
unknown  period  before  the  dawn  of  human  his- 
tory by  reason  of  its  great  fertile  plains,  which 
are  supplied  abundantly  by  the  rivers  bringing 
a  rich,  yellow  soil  from  the  plateau  of  Thibet. 
The  crowded  population  and  early  civilization  in 
the  plains  of  Northern  India  are  due  to  similar 
causes,  "  the  work  done  by  the  Ganges  as  water- 
carrier  and  fertilizer  "  entitling  it  to  rank  as  "  the 
foremost  river  on  the  surface  of  the  globe."  Eu- 
ropean instances  are  the  plains  of  Lombardy  and 
the  Netherlands,  both  very  fertile  and  populous, 
and  both  depending  on  alluvial  deposit  brought 
down  from  the  Alps.  Just 'as  Lombardy,  in  the 
classical  and  mediaeval  history  of  Europe,  was  re- 
peatedly invaded  by  savage  tribes  from  the  north- 
ern forests,  so,  in  prehistoric  times,  Hindustan 
became  a  prey  to  Aryan  and  other  races ;  the 
plains  of  China  to  Mongols  from  the  northwest ; 


ORIGIN   AND   RACES   OF  MANKIND.  13 

the  Nile  Valley  to  Hittites,  Assyrians,  and  Per- 
sians :  and  the  Euphrates  Valley  to  those  Akka- 
dian mountaineers  who  laid  the  foundations  of  ex- 
tinct Chaldaean  and  Babylonian  civilization. 


CHAPTER   I. 

ORIGIN    AND    RACES    OF    MANKIND. 

THE  Old  World  or  "  Eastern  Hemisphere  "  is 
by  the  geologist  divided  into  two  continents,  not 
three.  The  smaller  of  these,  Africa,  lies  mostly 
between  the  tropics.  The  other,  now  called 
Eurasia,  is  much  the  larger  of  the  two,  and  lies 
mostly  in  the  temperate  zone.  Europe,  the  west- 
ern extension  of  Eurasia,  has  from  its  impor- 
tance in  historical  times,  been  dignified  with  the 
name  of  Continent,  but  the  map  shows  it  is 
merely  an  irregular  peninsula.  When  the  low 
flat  district  round,  the  Caspian  and  Aral  Seas  was 
covered  by  a  branch  of  the  Arctic  Ocean,  Europe 
was  only  joined  to  the  Asiatic  continent  by  a 
mountainous  isthmus  which  included  Armenia 
and  Elburz. 

It  was  somewhere  in  Eurasia  probably  that 
the  first  home  of  mankind  was  placed.  In  this 
opinion  the  more  recent  ethnologists  agree  with 
ancient  traditions  and  tribal  records.  Darwin 
thought  that  the  origin  of  man  was  most  like- 
ly in  Africa,  partly  because  our  first  progeni- 
tors were  of  "  arboreal  habits  " ;  whereas  Hux- 
ley argued  that  the  earliest  men,  like  other  mam- 
malians, must  have  existed  in  various  parts  of 
the  globe,  and  therefore  concluded  that  "as  to 


14         EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE   EAST. 

where  the  genus  originated  it  is  impossible  to 
form  even  a  probable  guess."  The  point  has 
more  recently  been  taken  up  by  Dr.  A.  R.  Wal- 
lace, the  chief  coadjutor  of  Darwin  in  establish- 
ing u  Evolution  " — a  theory  almost  as  far-reach- 
ing as  Newton's  Generalization  of  Gravitation. 
Writing  in  1889,  he  says,  after  referring  to  Dar- 
win's opinion  as  to  where  the  ancestral  man 
originated,  "  it  is  more  probable  that  he  began 
his  existence  on  the  open  plains  or  high  plateaux 
of  the  temperate  zone,"  developing  "  skill  as  a 
hunter,  trapper,  or  fisherman,  and  later  as  a 
herdsman  and  cultivator."  Excluding  Africa, 
"  there  remains  the  great  Euro-Asiatic  continent, 
and  its  enormous  plateaux,  extending  from  Persia 
right  across  Thibet  and  Siberia  to  Manchuria, 
afford  an  area  some  part  of  which  probably  of- 
fered suitable  conditions  for  the  development  of 
ancestral  man."  At  the  time  of  man's  first  ap- 
pearance, according  to  geologists,  the  central  and 
southern  parts  both  of  India  and  Africa  were  sep- 
arated from  the  main  body  of -the  eastern  hemi- 
sphere by  broad  seas. 

The  simplest  division  of  the  human  family  is 
into  three  races,  the  Yellow  Man,  the  White  Man, 
and  the  Black  Man,  a  classification  first  suggested 
by  Cuvier.  The  White  or  Caucasian  race  now 
number  640  millions  over  the  wrhole  world,  the 
Yellow  or  Mongolian,  600,  and  the  Black  or 
African,  200.  Since  the  population  of  the  globe 
is  1500  millions,  it  is  evident  that  any  other  race, 
compared  with  those  three,  is  quite  unimportant, 
and  may  be  considered  a  modification  of  one 
or  more  of  them.  The  yellow  men  have  imme- 
morially  occupied  the  great  central  and  north- 
eastern plains  of  Eurasia,  and  are  therefore  called 


ORIGIN  AND   RACES   OF   MANKIND.  15 

Mongols  or  Turan-Chinese.  For  countless  cen- 
turies they  far  outnumbered  all  the  rest  of  the 
world,  and  even  now  the  white  men  in  Asia  form 
only  a  tenth  of  the  population  :  Buddhism,  the 
religion  of  the  Mongols,  is  professed  by  about 
one-third  of  mankind.  From  their  number,  po- 
sition, and  other  considerations  they  appear  to 
have  first  existed ;  the  other  two  races  being 
derived  from  them  by  emigration,  change  of 
climate  and  mode  of  living.  One  emigration  led 
after  several  generations  to  a  settlement  in  the 
hot  equatorial  lowlands  of  Africa,  and  thus  in 
course  of  time  produced  the  brown-black  negro. 
Another  emigration  "  spreading  north-west  into 
Europe,  the  moist  and  cool  climate  led  to  a  mod- 
ification of  an  opposite  character,"  so  that  the 
ruddy  or  olive-white  Caucasian  was  the  result. 
Thus  the  three  great  racial  types  may  have 
sprung  from  the  Mongolian  stock.  A  remark 
of  Professor  Rawlinson,  written  in  1887,  may 
help  to  confirm  thi's  theory,  though  not  intended 
to  do  so.  "  It  is  quite  conceivable,"  he  says, 
"  that  the  negro  type  was  produced  by  a  ordinal 
jiegener^luaa  from  that  which  we  find  in  Egypt," 
— the  Egyptian  being,  let  us  suppose,  derived 
from  the  White  race. 

The  characteristics  or  distinguishing  marks  of 
the  White  and  Yellow  races  are  well  known.  The 
former  type  has  white  or  ruddy  skin,  changing  to 
olive  or  brown,  with  flaxen  or  brown  hair,  chang- 
ing to  red,  etc.,  and  full  beard;  while  the  Mon- 
golian has  a  yellow  skin  of  coarse  texture, 
changing  to  brown  and  tawny;  coarse,  dull-black 
hair,  lank  and  lustreless;  beard,  scant  or  absent. 
The  Mongolian  has  narrow  black  eyes,  almond- 
shaped  and  slightly  oblique,  with  concave  nose, 


TINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF   THE   EAST. 


broad,  flat  features,  and  high  cheek  bones.  The 
White  or  Caucasian  race  are  generally  taller,  and 
have  more  muscular  and^rnental  activity  ;  with 
greater  imagination,  enterprise,  and  organizing 
power./^ 

This  latter  race  has,  since  prehistoric  times, 
consisted  of  three  main  sections,  —  if  we  include 
as  one  the  ancestors  of  the  ancient  Egyptians, 
the  aboriginal  "  red  men  "  of  their  legends. 

The  second  section  of  primitive  white  men 
were  the  "Aryans,"  embracing  (i)  the  people  of 
Iran  or  ancient  Persia,  (2)  the  ancient  Hindoos, 
(3)  Greeks,  (4)  Italians,  (5)  Celts,  (6)  Germans, 
and  (7)  Slavic  races.  The  languages  of  those 
various  peoples  prove  by  the  resemblance  or 
identity  of  numberless  words  in  common  use  that 
they  have  sprung  from  one  original  stock  or  fam- 
ily of  tribes  who  had  in  course  of  time  reached 
civilization  of  a  simple  kind.  This  is  corrobo- 
rated by  proverbs,  stories,  myths,  and  much 
other  folk-lore  common  to  the  seven  peoples. 
Professor  Max  Miiller  (speaking  2yth  May,  1896) 
remarks,  "  The  resemblance  of  the  fables  of  ^Esop 
to  those  occurring  in  the  ancient  books  of  India 
compels  the  inference  that  both  sets  have  been 
brought  down  from  our  common  Aryan  ances- 
tors." 

Collectively,  those  seven  nations  are  called 
Aryans  (Arya  =  "  noble  ")  since  the  word  occurs 
in  most  of  the  derived  dialects,  and  has  been  as- 
sumed as  a  name  of  honour  by  many  septs  and 
colonies  amongst  their  descendants  —  e.g.,  in  In- 
dia, Persia,  Scandinavia,  Germany,  and  Ireland. 
Another  name  for  this  division  of  white  men  is 
Indo-Europeans,  since  the  descendants  of  the  ex- 
tinct Aryan  tribes  occupy  the  countries  westward 


ORIGIN   AND   RACES   OF  MANKIND.  17 

from  India  towards  Europe,  and  include  nineteen- 
twentieths  of  the  people  in  the  latter. 

Several  men  of  science  would  place  the  origi- 
nal home  of  the  Aryan  community  in  Europe — to 
the  south  of  the  Baltic,  say  some — and,  if  so,  the 
ancestors  of  the  ancient  Persians  and  Hindoos 
must  have  travelled  eastward.  It  is  more  usually 
held,  however,  that  the  first  home  of  the  Aryans 
was  in  Asia,  probably  to  the  north  of  the  Hindoo 
Koosh  range.  There  for  many  generations  they 
lived  peaceably  in  farms  and  villages.  Their 
houses  were  round  huts,  and  their  chief  means  of 
living  grazing  cows  and  oxen,  with  some  fishing 
and  hunting.  They  speak  of  the  cow,  sheep, 
goat,  and  dog,  but  not  the  ass,  camel,  tiger  or 
lion  ;  and  yoked  oxen  to  the  plough  or  harnessed 
them  to  their  wheeled  waggons  and  cars.  They 
worked  the  metals — gold,  silver,  and  bronze,  but 
not  iron.  The  year  to  the  Aryans  had  but  two 
seasons — winter  and  summer,  and  they  measured 
time  by  nights  rather  than  days,  by  the  moon 
rather  than  the  sun  : — e.g.,  the  words  "fortnight," 
"se'nnight,"  "Twelfth  night/'  a  "twelvemonth." 
The  government  of  the  community  was  by  chiefs 
and  kings.  As  successive  colonies  swarmed  off 
in  search  of  foreign  homes  in  the  south  or  west, 
new  words  were  added  to  the  language  by  the 
enlargement  of  their  ideas,  and  by  fresh  expe- 
rience in  war  and  adventure. 

The  religious  belief  of  this  early  race  was  ' '  an  instinctive 
monotheism"  apparently,  judging  from  the  sacred  hymns  of 
the  Hindoos,  their  descendants,  who  conquered  India.  The 
deity  is  "he  who  gives  life,  he  who  gives  strength;  whose 
shadow  is  immortality  ; — he  whose  power  these  snowy  moun- 
tains, whose  power  the  sea  proclaims,  with  the  distant  river  ; 
he  through  whom  the  sky  is  bright  and  the  earth  firm  ;  through 
whom  the  heaven  was  established,  nay,  the  highest  heaven  ; 
2 


1 8        EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF   THE   EAST. 

he  who  measured  out  the  light  in  the  air.  .  .  .  Wherever  the 
mighty  water  clouds  went,  where  they  placed  the  seed  and  lit 
the  fire,  thence  arose  he  who  is  the  only  life  of  the  bright  gods, 
— he  who  is  God  above  all  gods."  * 

We  must  infer,  therefore,  from  such  evidence 
that  the  Aryans  from  whom  we,  in  common  with 
the  other  Germanic  races  are  descended,  had  at- 
tained to  a  civilization  which,  though  extinct 
since  3000  B.C.  (according  to  Lenormant),  has 
deeply  marked  the  language  and  culture  of 
Europe  and  India.  Professor  Max  Muller  gives 
the  following  specimen  of  the  Aryan  mode  of 
thought : 

.  .  .  Yon  bright  sky 

Was  not,  nor  heaven's  broad  woof  outstretched  above. 
What  covered  all  ?  what  sheltered  ?  what  concealed  ? 
Then  was  no  confine  betwixt  day  and  night  ; 
The  only  One  breathed  breathless  in  itself, 
Other  than  it  there  nothing  since  has  been. 

.  .  .  Poets  in  their  hearts  discerned, 
Pondering,  this  bond  between  created  things 
And  uncreated. 

Nature  below,  and  Power  and  Will  above — 
Who  knows  the  secret  ?  who  proclaimed  it  here  ? 
Whence,  whence  this  manifold  creation  sprang  ? 
Who  knows  from  whom  this  great  creation  sprang  ?  f 

The  oldest  of  the  Indian  poems  reflect  for 
us  the  state  of  society  amongst  the  Aryan  people 
soon  after  the  Asiatic  emigrants  had  separated 
into  two  streams,  one  to  settle  in  ancient  Persia 
and  found  the  religion  afterwards  reformed  by 
Zoroaster,  the  other  to  descend  into  Hindostan. 
These  Aryans  in  Asia  had  meanwhile  advanced 
in  agriculture  and  other  arts,  the  community  be- 
ing already  divided  into  three  classes — priests, 

*  Prof.  Muller,  Sanscrit  Literature,  p.  569. 
f  Idem,  p.  564. 


ORIGIN  AND   RACES   OF   MANKIND.  19 

warriors,  and  agriculturists.  Afterwards  in  India 
the  classes  were  most  rigidly  defined,  and  be- 
came the  three  superior  "castes,"  while  in  Persia 
they  reappeared  as  priestly  orders  of  a  later  date. 
Being  light-skinned,  the  Aryan  invaders  separated 
themselves  from  the  dark-skinned  natives,  and 
thus  produced  a  further  caste-distinction — the 
most  remarkable  feature  in  the  sociology  of  the 
great  peninsula. 

We  now  turn  to  the  third  main  section  of 
white  men,  viz.:  the  "Semites"  or  "Shemites." 
These  embraced  tribes  in  Arabia  and  Syria,  with 
others  who  had  settled  in  Ethiopia,  Abyssinia, 
and  Babylonia; — Syria,  of  course,  including  Phoe- 
nicia and  Palestine.  The  Semites  have  their 
name  from  "  Shem  "  (2^  of  the  Septuagint),  the 
son  of  Noah,  who  was  claimed  by  the  Hebrews 
and  Arabians  to  be  the  forefather  of  Abraham. 
Renan,  who  was  a  great  authority  on  these  races 
and  languages,  called  this  division  the  "Syro- 
Arabian,"  which,  like  the  term  "  Indo-European," 
is  at  once  suggestive  of  the  countries  which  are 
mainly  to  be  associated  with  the  peoples.  He 
said  that  the  Hebrew  language  was  Syro-Arabian 
before  the  Captivity,  and  Syro-Babylonian  after  it. 

The  original  home  of  the  Semitic  division  of 
white  men  was  probably  in  the  south  of  Arabia, 
formed  by  a  settlement  of  tribes  of  the  desert 
abandoning  a  nomadic  and  merely  pastoral  life 
for  tillage  and  other  settled  occupations.  From 
that  centre  successive  swarms  started  in  various 
directions,  some  to  trade,  others  to  plunder  or 
seek  adventures.  One  colony  was  formed  to  the 
south  of  Egypt,  and  afterward  known  as  Ethio- 
pians. The  language  of  Abyssinia  (called  the 
Gee'z,  or  "  emigrant  "  language)  is  Semitic  and  is 


20        EXTINCT  CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE   EAST. 

said  to  be  derived  from  the  Ethiopia.  About 
4000  B.C.,  nomads,  tribes  of  the  same  origin  as 
those  Arabian  tribes,  are  found  settling  in  wealthy 
Chaldea,  and  by  adapting  themselves  to  the 
Akkad  or  Turanian  population  quickly  assimi- 
lated the  surrounding  culture,  using  the  Akkad 
religion,  letters,  and  literature  till  they  became 
an  integral  part  of  the  nation.  Other  migrations 
led  to  the  settlements  of  Phoenicia,  Palestine,  and 
Syria  ;  while  various  tribes,  such  as  the  Moabites 
and  Edomites,  remained  partly  nomadic  on  the 
skirts  of  the  desert.  The  Hyksos  or  sheperd- 
kings  who  invaded  Egypt  were,  perhaps,  Semitic, 
being  sometimes  called  Arabs;  though  they  are 
now  generally  called  Hittites. 

As  the  Semitic  newcomers  became  part  of  the 
population  in  the  Euphrato-Tigris  valley,  so  their 
brethren  from  the  Ethiopian  settlement  appear  to 
have  adopted  the  Egyptian  culture  and  manners 
till  they  at  last  had  a  real  share  in  the  citizen- 
ship. In  their  original  homes  the  tribes  of  the 
Semites  were  poor  and  without  resources,  unable 
to  found  by  themselves  any  great  centre  of  civil- 
ization. 

The  nomadic  life  which  the  Semites  led  in  the 
deserts  must  in  many  ways  have  resembled  that 
of  the  Bedouins,  as  described  by  the  modern 
travellers.  Some  of  the  tribes  peaceful  and  pious, 
others  deceitful  and  fond  of  plunder ;  and  most 
of  them  ready  to  trade  and  barter  when  oppor- 
tunity offered.  The  simple  and  primitive  pictures 
of  desert  life  given  in  the  first  book  of  the  Old 
Testament  may  illustrate  that  of  the  more  rever- 
ential Syro-Arabians  before  settling  down  in 
populous  communities.  Abraham  moves  his 
tent  to  pitch  it  on  better  pasture  ground,  just 


ORIGIN   AND   RACES  OF  MANKIND.  21 

as  any  sheik  has  ever  done  in  or  near  the  des 
ert. 

"And  he  removed  thence  unto  a  mountain  on  the  east 
of  Bethel,  and  pitched  his  tent.  .  .  .  And  Lot  also  had  flocks 
and  herds  and  tents.  .  .  .  Then  Abraham  removed  his  tent 
and  came  and  dwelt  in  the  plain  of  Mamre.  .  .  .  And  he  sat 
in  the  tent  door  in*  the  heat  of  the  day,  and  lo,  three  men," 
&c. — This  is  followed  by  a  scene  which  graphically  represents 
the  hospitality  often  shown  by  Arabians  to  strangers — "  three 
measures  of  meal "  being  baked  and  "  a  calf  tender  and  good  " 
dressed  ;  the  sheik  finally  "  took  butter  and  milk  and  the  calf 
which  he  had  dressed  and  set  it  before  them ;  and  he  stood  by 
them  under  the  tree  and  they  did  eat."  ..."  And  Abraham 
reproved  Abimelech  because  of  a  well  of  water, — these  seven 
ewe-lambs  shalt  thou  take  of  my  hand  that  they  may  be  a 
witness  that  I  have  digged  this  well." 

To  illustrate  the  life  of  a  wealthier  sheik  or 
patriarch  than  Abraham  we  need  only  turn  to  the 
book  of  Job,  one  of  the  finest  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment Scriptures.  Much  of  it,  referring  to  such 
primitive  scenes  as  those  of  the  original  home  of 
the  Semites,  has  been  assigned  to  a  writer,  perhaps 
an  Arabian,  who  lived  before  the  time  of  Moses, 
but  from  two  verses  (xiii.  26  ;  xxxi.  35)  Ewald 
concludes  that  some  of  the  work  was  composed 
after  writing  had  been  invented. 

Of  other  Syro-Arabic  tribes  mentioned  in  the 
Bible  the  Edomites,  like  the  Moabites  and  the 
Phoenicians,  were  very  closely  allied  to  the 
Hebrews  in  language  and  race.  Professor 
Duncker  says  the  fathers  of  the  Hebrews  "  had 
broken  off  from  the  Edomites,  the  settlers  on 
Mount  Seir,"  south  of  the  Dead  Sea,  "  and  pas- 
tured their  flocks  on  the  Nile  under  Egyptian 
protection."  This  Semitic  race  was  so  identified 
with  the  neighbouring  Jews  that  Roman  historians 
used  "Idumaea"  (^Edomaea)  and  "  Judaea  "  as 


22         EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS  OF   THE   EAST. 

synonymous.  The  Moabites  had  become  extinct 
as  a  people,  being  perhaps  absorbed  by  the  Arabs, 
as  the  Edomites  were,  but  the  recent  discovery  of 
a  stone  of  black  basalt  with  thirty-four  lines  in 
Phoenician  characters  has  revived  their  memory. 
This  monument,  preserved  in  the  Louvre,  Paris, 
proves  that  at  900  B.C.  the  Hebrews  and  Moabites 
had  the  same  dialect  as  the  Phoenicians.  Some 
of  the  words  are  (cf.  2  Kings  iii.) : — 

"I  am  Mesha,  King  of  Moab.  And  I  made  this  high 
place  for  Chemosh.  Omri  was  king  over  Israel,  and  he 
afflicted  Moab  for  many  days.  And  his  son  also  said,  I  will 
afflict  Moab.  But  I  saw  my  pleasure  on  him  and  on  his 
house,  and  Israel  perished  with  an  everlasting  destruction. 
And  Chemosh  said  unto  me,  Go  take  Nebo  against  Israel. 
And  I  went  and  fought  from  dawn  until  noon.  And  I  took  it 
and  slew  the  whole  of  it,  7000  men  and  women,  and  man- 
servants and  maid-servants." 

Considered  as  a  race,  the  Semites  are  of  excel- 
lent physique  and  often  handsojne.  features,  with 
rapid  intelligence,  sometimes  imaginative  as  well 
as  acute ;  but  in  s^SHSrr  qualities  they  are  dis- 
tinctly jnferioj;  to  the  Aryan  White  Men.  They 
have  made  little  advance  in  science,  philosophy, 
or  the  fine  arts;  and  have  nowhere  become  con- 
solidated into  a  rich  or  powerful  State.  Like  the 
Assyrians  the  Moors  attained  renown  by  the 
sword,  but  their  empire  was  short-lived,  and 
Phoenicia,  by  its  trade  and  navigation,  has  been 
almost  the  only  Semitic  state  to  assist  the  civiliza- 
tion of  the  world. 

The  various  nations  of  the  Mongolic  or  Yellow 
Men  are  of  less  importance,  for  our  present  pur- 
pose, than  those  of  the  Caucasian  group  just 
discussed.  The  Mongols  or  "  Turanians  "  are, 
as  a  group,  more  sluggish  and  taciturn  than  the 


CHALDEA  AND    BABYLONIA.  23 

white  men,  with  less  initiative,  but  more  power 
of  endurance.  Perhaps  the  most  interesting  fact 
about  them,  in  connection  with  the  following 
chapters,  is  that  the  Akkads,  and  probably  the 
Hittites,  were  of  their  blood ;  and  that  both  these 
nations,  even  before  the  earliest  dawn  of  history, 
showed  more  inventive  power  and  adaptability 
than  all  the  white  races  who  were  their  neighbours. 


CHAPTER  II. 

CHALDEA    AND    BABYLONIA.* 

IN  the  map  of  Western  Asia  there  is  a  long 
valley  seen,  separating  the  deserts  of  Northern 
Arabia  from  the  Median  Mountains  on  the  west- 
ern frontier  of  Persia.  During  all  modern  his- 
tory, and  as  far  back  as  the  time  of  ancient 
Greece  and  Rome,  this  well-watered  region  has 
been  a  scene  of  desolation  and  waste,  yet  it  was 
once  one  of  the  most  important  centres  of  popu- 
lation and  wealth,  crowded  for  countless  centuries 
with  various  races,  and  the  seat  of  perhaps  the 
oldest  of  extinct  civilizations. 

This  great  country,  the  "  Land  of  the  Chaldees  " 
in  the  Old  Testament,  had  been  named  Babilu, 
"the  Gate  of  God,"  by  the  Assyrians, — Babilu,  or 
"Babel,"  meaning  the  same  as  Kadi-mirra,  which 
was  the  name  given  to  the  capital  of  the  monarchy 
in  the  original  language.  The  obvious  cause  of 
the  early  population  here  was  the  alluvial  soil 
spread  over  a  wide,  flat  plain  by  the  Euphrates 

*  See  Maps  on  pages  68  and  139. 


24        EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS  OF   THE   EAST. 

and  Tigris.  The  fertility  and  ease  of  tillage  at- 
tracted generations  of  squatters,  settlers,  and 
cultivators  from  the  first  beginning  of  human  life 
on  our  planet.  The  southern  part  of  this  region, 
according  to  geologists,  has  been  won  from  the 
sea  ;  the  twin  rivers  having  brought  down  from 
the  Armenian  mountains  so  abundant  and  con- 
stant a  supply  of  deposits,  as  not  only  to  fertilize 
the  whole  valley,  but  gradually  convert  the  head 
of  the  Persian  Gulf  into  splendid  farms  and 
gardens.  About  the  year  4000  B.C.,  the  Tigris 
and  Euphrates  entered  the  sea  by  different 
mouths.  Even  in  the  days  of  Abraham,  the 
patriarch  (about  2120  B.C.,  according  to  the 
cuneiform  inscriptions),  the  town  "  Ur  of  the 
Chaldees  "  was  an  important  sea-port,  though  it 
is  now  150  miles  up  the  Euphrates. 

The  earliest  civilized  race  possessing  this 
"  Country-between-the-Rivers  "  [Mesopotamia], 
as  the  Greeks  long  afterwards  named  it,  appear 
from  the  inscriptions  to  have  been  the  Akkads — 
"  Mountaineers,"  in  their  own  language — who,  at 
an  unknown  period,  had  descended  from  the  high- 
lands on  the  east  and  north-east.  This  wonder- 
ful  people,  who  have  recently  been  presented  to 
history  for  the  first  time,  are  proved,  by  their 
language  in  the  inscriptions,  their  features  as 
shown  in  many  sculptures,  their  art  and  religion, 
to  have  been  Turanian  by  descent,  />.,  they  be- 
longed to  the  yellow  or  Mongolian  family,  which 
have  already  been  mentioned.  The  Akkads,  there- 
fore, were  not  at  all  allied  to  the  Assyrian  and 
other  Semitic  races,  who  long  afterwards  adopted 
their  civilization,  and  combined  with  them  in 
building  up  the  kingdoms  of  Chaldea  and  the 
mighty  empire  of  Babylonia,  Of  the  Tartar 


CHALDEA   AND    BABYLONIA.  *5 

type,  they  had  high  cheek-bones,  curly  black  hair, 
and  looked  upon  the  lands  of  the  Median  and 
Armenian  Mountains  as  the  centre  of  the  world, 
the  cradle  of  their  race.  Those  "early  Chal- 
deans," strange  to  say,  had  attained  to  a  degree 
of  art,  learning,  and  culture  in  their  native  coun- 
try such  as  to  suggest  the  conclusion  that  not 
only  the  Aryan  race,  but  even  the  Chinese  and 
Egyptians  may  have  been  indebted  to  them  for 
some  germs  of  primitive  civilization.  They  had 
two  kingdoms  in  the  Chaldean  plain,  u  Akkad  " 
— i.e.,  the  Higher  Land — in  the  north,  with  its 
capital,  Sippar  (afterwards  called  "  Sepharvaim  " 
by  the  Hebrews),  and  Shumir,  the  flat  country  in 
the  south,  which  is  the  "  Shinar  "  of  the  Book  of 
Genesis.  Their  first  capital  in  the  south  was 
Uruki  (the  "  Erech  "  of  Genesis),  the  second  Ur, 
and  the  last  Babilu,  better  known  by  its  Greek 
name  Babylon.  The  first  king  of  Shumir  and 
Akkad  united  appears  to  have  been  Hammurabi, 
a  soldier  and  statesman,  who  has  left  many  in- 
scriptions. Babylon  was  his  native  town  (which 
his  father  had  ruled  under  its  native  name),  and 
he  was,  therefore,  all  the  more  disposed'to  make 
it  the  capital  of  his  new  monarchy,  Babylonia, 
after  expelling  an  Elamite  army,  which  had  in- 
vaded the  south.  To  Hammurabi  is  due  a  work 
of  national  importance  ;  the  huge  excavation, 
afterwards  called  the  Royal  Canal  of  Babylon, 
which  1500  years  later,  was  still  an  object  of  ad- 
miration, indispensable  for  purposes  of  irrigation. 
The  patron-god  of  the  new  capital,  Merodach  (Bel, 
or  "Baal"),  at  once  rose  into  importance,  and 
soon  had  a  temple  far  surpassing  those  of  the  old 
capitals  in  the  Euphrates  Valley.  He  became  one 
of  the  "  twelve  great  gods  "  or  dii  majores  of  the 


26        EXTINCT  CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE  EAST. 

nation,  and,  as  represented  by  the  planet  Jupiter, 
was  prominent  on  the  Tower  of  the  Seven  Spheres. 
With  more  taste  for  the  fine  arts  than  the  suc- 
ceeding races,  the  Akkads  have  left  admirable 
specimens  of  skill  and  delicate  handiwork.  Some 
of  their  sculpture  proves  that  that  art  had  been 
cultivated  for  generations:  their  statues  surpass- 
ing those  of  the  Assyrians,  and  sometimes  show- 
ing knowledge  of  anatomy.  Certain  details  re- 
semble those  of  King  Kephren  of  Memphis.  We 
have  seals  of  all  kinds  of  stone,  beautifully  en- 
graved and  polished.  Music  was  an  important 
branch  of  study,  and  at  a  very  early  date  the 
harp,  pipe,  and  symbals  are  mentioned;  we  infer 
singing  also,  since  so  many  sacred  hymns  have 
been  recorded  in  their  tablets.  It  is  as  a  nimble- 
minded  and  inventive  people,  however,  that  the 
Akkad  people  chiefly  excelled.  They  invented 
the  cuneiform  letters  to  which  we  owe  all  our 
knowledge  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria.  In  their 
social  and  domestic  relations,  they  were  simple 
and  peaceful,  treating  women  kindly,  and  show- 
ing especial  honour  to  mothers  of  families.  A 
wife  could  own  property  apart  from  the  hus- 
band. Slaves  were  by  law  to  be  treated  justly, 
and  many  of  them  were  apprenticed  to  trades. 
All  children  were  taught  to  read  and  write.  We 
find  land-leases  drawn  up  by  conveyancing  law- 
yers ;  and  the  judges  in  court,  like  our  own, 
often  had  to  quote  precedents  of  a  much  earlier 
date.  The  taxes  included  tithes,  levied  for  re- 
ligious purposes.  Some  of  the  artisans  were 
weavers,  dyers,  potters,  smiths,  and  carpenters, 
and  some  Assyrian  sculptures  show  skilfully  em- 
broidered clothes,  and  carpets  ornamented  with 
designs. 


CHALDEA   AND    BABYLONIA.  27 

CUNEIFORM  INSCRIPTION. 


Brick  found  at  Warka,  the  site  of  Erech,  the 
ancient  capital  of  Akkad  or  Chaldea.  see  pp.  26,  43. 
["  The  beginning  of  NimrocTs  kingdom  was  Babel, 
and  Erech,  and  Akkad,  in  the  la/id  of  Shinar"  Gen. 
x.  10.] 

Written  on  the  occasion  of  a  temple  being  built  to  a  goddess 
(Beltis)  by  one  of  the  earliest  kings.  The  English  of  the  inscrip- 
tion runs  : 

u  Beltis  his  lady  has  caused  Urukh  the  pious  chief,  King  of 
Erech  and  King  of  the  land  of  the  Akkad,  to  build  a  temple 
to  her." 

This  civilization  of  the  earliest  Chaldeans  im- 
plied a  good  knowledge  of  science  in  several  lead- 
ing branches.  The  sun-dial  was  known  and  the 
clepsydra  or  water-clock  ;  the  lever  and  pulley  ; 
some  of  the  libraries  contain  tablets  with  very 
minute  letters,  and  some  lenses  of  glass  are  found 
which  are  supposed  to  have  been  used  to  assist 
the  reader's  eyesight.  On  one  tablet  we  find  the 


28        EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF   THE   EAST. 

squares  and  cubes  of  a  series  of  numbers  ;  there 
are  also  calculations  of  area  and  geometrical 
propositions.  Some  tablets  seem  to  refer  to  the 
four  moons  of  the  planet  Jupiter,  which  would 
imply  that  telescopes  were  known  in  Chaldea.  As 
astronomers  and  astrologers  they  used  a  regular 
calendar,  the  prototype  probably  of  all  those  now 
adopted,  dividing  the  year  into  four  seasons,  twelve 
lunar  months,  or  360  days;  and  they  also  knew  the 
exact  length  of  "  the  sidereal  year."  The  latitude 
of  stars  was  reckoned  from  the  zenith  of  Elam,  in 
their  original  Median  mountains,  just  as  we  every- 
where refer  longitude  to  the  Greenwich  meridian. 
Each  month  had  a  Sabbath,  called  Sabbatu,  on  the 
7th,  i4th,  2ist,  and  28th  days,  besides  a  fifth  one 
on  the  iQth.  As  early  as  2200  B.C.  they  named 
the  twelve  signs  of  the  Zodiac  and  divided  the 
equatorial  into  360  degrees,  these  results  probably 
first  suggesting  to  them  the  number  of  months 
and  days  in  a  year.  Each  degree  they  divided 
into  60  minutes,  and  each  minute  into  60  seconds, 
as  is  still  done  universally,  because  60  was  their 
divisor  generally.  Their  silver  currency  embraced 
the  talent  and  the  shekel— two  coins  which  be- 
came familiar  to  Europeans,  from  having  been 
adopted  by  the  Hebrew  kings  of  many  centuries 
later. 

That  the  Akkads  or  early  Babylonians  were 
essentially  a  literary  people  is  also  proved  by  the 
"  libraries,"  or  stores  of  inscribed  tablets  and 
cylinders  left  in  their  palaces  and  temples.  At 
Sippar,  the  capital  of  Sargon  I.,  a  library  of  that 
king  was  found  3200  years  afterwards,  and  many 
of  its  books  on  astronomy  and  astrology  were 
copied  for  general  use.  By  this  means  the  date 
of  Sargon  is  now  fixed  at  3800  B.C.,  and  is  prob- 


CHALDEA  AND   BABYLONIA.  29 

ably  the  oldest  which  is  authentically  exact.  A 
French  Assyriologist  remarks  :  "  Of  all  the  na- 
tions who  have  bequeathed  written  records  of 
their  lives,  we  may  assert  that  none  has  left 
monuments  more  imperishable  than  Assyria  and 
Chaldea.  Their  number  is  daily  increased  by 
new  discoveries :  that  of  the  tablets  from  the 
Nineveh  Library  alone  exceeds  10,000.  If  we 
compare  these  texts  with  those  left  us  by  other 
nations  we  can  easily  become  convinced  that  the 
<  history  of  the  Assyro-Chaldean  civilization  will 
soon  be  one  of  the  best  known  of  antiquity."  It 
may  be  noted  here  that,  though  the  term  Chaldea 
is  used  for  Babylonia,  and  the  Akkads  are  called 
"  early  Chaldeans,"  yet  strictly  the  general  name 
Chaldeans  was  only  applied  to  the  mixed  popula- 
tion of  the  whole  valley,  after  the  Assyrians  and 
others  had  become  consolidated  into  one  nation 
with  the  Akkads.  The  first  Chaldeans  settled 
near  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  being  more  warlike 
than  their  neighbours,  soon  became  masters  of 
Mesopotamia.  Thus  the  words  Chaldea  and 
Babylonia  came  to  be  used  interchangeably. 

After  the  close  of  the  Babylonian  empire  the 
name  Chaldean  implied  a  magician,  soothsayer, 
or  "wise  man  of  the  East";  because  they  had 
inherited  from  the  Akkad  priests  many  super- 
stitious beliefs  and  practices  in  astrology,  fortune- 
telling,  exorcising,  &c.  "fmga"  in  Akkad  was  a 
priest,  which  the  Assyrians  pronounced  maga,  the 
Rabmag,  or  u  chief  priest,"  being  an  official  of 
their  kings.  Probably  the  Persian  Magi  derived 
their  name  from  the  Akkad  word.  Hence  magus 
in  Latin,  and  "  magic,"  "  magician,"  &c. 

What  do  we  know  of  the  religion  of  the  ear- 
liest Chaldeans,  a  creed  believed  and  acted  upon 


30        EXTINCT  CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE   EAST. 

from  6000  to  7000  years  ago.  At  first,  like  other 
men  of  the  yellow  race,  they  believed  that  every 
object  was  the  abode  of  some  spirit,  and  their 
priests,  therefore,  were  medicine  men  who  con- 
stantly practised  exorcism,  and  used  an  intricate 
system  of  spells  and  charms.  As  culture  spread, 
and  the  religious  ideas  assumed  higher  forms,  their 
conceptions  of  deity  and  the  supernatural  bore 
resemblance  to  those  of  other  early  civilizations, 
and  their  more  philosophic  teachers  almost  for- 
mulated a  monotheism.  Many  of  their  liturgies 
have  been  found,  and  some  contain  sacred 
hymns  which  in  tone  resemble  those  of  the  He- 
brew psalms.  On  some  ancient  bricks  (date,  2500 
B.C.)  found  at  Ur,  occurs  a  litany  with  these 
words : 

"  In  heaven  who  is  supreme  ? 

Thou  alone  art  supreme. 
On  earth  who  is  supreme  ? 

Thou  alone  art  supreme. 
The  word  is  proclaimed  in  Heaven, 
And  the  angels  bow  their  faces  down." 

Another  hymn;  suggesting  a  somewhat  pure 
form  of  monotheism,  runs : 

"  Long-suffering  father,  full  of  forgiveness,  whose  hand 
upholds  the  lives  of  mankind :  Lord,  thy  deity  is  as  the  wide 
heavens,  and  fills  the  sea  with  fear."  •*, 

Tammuz  (Akkad,  Dumuzi)  is  addressed  as  the 
"Sun  of  Life,"  "the  only  begotten  one."  His 
worship  extended  from  Babylonia  to  Syria,  and 
is  denounced  by  the  prophet  Ezekiel  on  account 
of  the  rites  accompanying  the  yearly  festival. 
The  chief  sun-god  was  Shamash  ("  Shemesh  "  in 
the  Bible),  who  had  a  temple  at  Sippar,  the  capi- 
tal of  N.  Babylonia.  The  sculpture  shows  him 


CHALDEA  AND   BABYLONIA.  3! 

with  a  long  flowing  beard,  seated  on  a  splendid 
throne,  with  a  ring,  as  symbol  of  eternity,  in  his 
hand,  attended  by  winged  creatures  somewhat  re- 
sembling the  Cherubim  described  by  Ezekiel  the 
prophet.  Mullil,  the  Bel  of  the  Semitic  creed, 
was  called  "  Lord  of  the  world  of  Spirits,"  "  Ruler 
of  Mankind,"  and  to  him  one  of  the  inscriptions 
ascribed  the  Deluge.  The  Akkad  triad  of  gods 
was  Na,  the  sky;  Ea,  the  earth;  and  Mul-ge,  the 
lord  of  the  underworld.  Dumuzi  is  the  hero  of  a 
solar  myth — a  Babylonian  epic  of  great  beauty — 
one  episode  being  the  descent  of  Ishtar  to  Hades 
to  claim  him  from  her  rival,  the  dread  Queen  of 
the  Dead.  Some  parts  of  what  has  been  found 
are  said  to  be  "  scarcely  surpassed  for  splendid 
poetry  and  sombre  grandeur." 

The  opening  lines  of  the  poem  are  : 

"  Towards  the  land  whence  there  is  no  return,  towards  the 
house  of  corruption,  Ishtar  has  turned  her  mind  towards  the 
dwelling  that  has  a  way  in  but  no  way  out,  towards  a  road  on 
which  one  goes  forward  but  not  backward,  towards  the  hall 
whence  the  light  of  day  is  shut  out,  where  hunger  feeds  on 
dust  and  mud,  where  light  is  never  seen,  where  the  shades  of 
the  dead  dwell  in  the  dark,  clothed  with  wings  like  birds. 
On  the  lintel  of  the  gate  and  in  the  lock  dust  lies  accumulated." 

The  Chaldean  "  cosmogony  " — account  of  the 
Creation  or  origin  of  things — was  one  of  the  very 
few  points  known  before  the  Assyrian  explora- 
tions, because  it  had  been  described  in  Greek  by 
Berosus,  a  learned  priest  of  Babylon  at  the  time 
of  Alexander  the  Great.  The  accuracy  of  Bero- 
sus has  been  confirmed  by  the  inscriptions,  and  his 
version  bears  a  remarkable  resemblance  to  the 
cosmogonies  of  the  Hebrews  and  the  Phoenicians. 
Both  of  these  races  claimed  by  tradition  to  have 
migrated  from  Chaldea,  and  no  doubt  derived 


$2        EXTINCT  CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE  EAST. 

from  it  much  of  their  mythology  and  religion. 
"  Assur,  the  chief  god  of^  Assyria,  in  many  re- 
spects," says  Prof.  Sayce,  "  closely  resembles  the 
local  god  of  Israel."  The  national  epic  of  the 
Akkad  hero  king,  Ishdubar,  contains  on  one  tab- 
let a  Deluge  legend  which  agrees  closely  with  that 
in  Genesis.  In  the  British  Museum  is  shewn  a 
very  ancient  Babylonian  cylinder  with  a  tree 
bearing  fruit  and  a  human  couple  stretching  out 
their  hands  towards  it,  while  a  serpent  stands  be- 
hind the  woman  as  if  to  whisper  some  suggestion. 
The  "  Sacred  Tree  "  is  continually  reproduced  on 
cylinders  and  sculptures,  sometimes  very  promi- 
nently. The  sculptured  winged  bulls  or  other 
creatures  at  the  gate  of  a  temple  or  palace  repre- 
sented guardian  spirits  called  Kirubu,  whence  the 
Hebrew  Kerubim,  English  "  Cherubim."  King 
Esarhaddon,  speaking  of  one  of  his  immense  pal- 
aces, writes:  "In  its  gates  I  placed  bulls  and 
colossi,  who  turn  themselves  against  the  wicked 
according  to  the  command  impressed  upon  them 
[by  the  high  priests  and  soothsayers]  ;  they  pro- 
tect the  footsteps,  causing  peace  on  the  path  of 
the  King,  their  creator." 

A  remarkable  feature  of  the  religion  of  the 
Chaldeans  has  been  used  to  explain  the  shape  of 
their  palaces  and  temples.  They  "  lifted  their 
eyes  to  the  hills  "  on  the  northeast,  "  the  Father 
of  Countries,"  and  imagined  it  the  abode  of  the 
Gods,  the  future  home  of  every  great  and  good 
man — "  a  land  with  a  sky  of  silver,  a  soil  produ- 
cing crops  without  tilling," — "  the  mountain  of  Bel 
in  the  east,  whose  double  head  reaches  unto  the 
skies,  like  a  mighty  buffalo  at  rest  whose  double 
horn  sparkles  as  a  sunbeam,  as  a  star."  The  type 
of  the  holy  mountain  was  therefore  reproduced  in 


CHALDEA   AND   BABYLONIA.  33 

every  palace  and  temple,  sometimes  by  building 
it  on  an  artificial  mound  with  trees  and  plants 
watered  from  above  ;  and  on  a  larger  scale  by 
the  Ziggurat,  or  "  Mountain  Peak."  The  latter 
device  was  a  sort  of  pyramid  of  three,  five,  or 
seven  stages,  each  being  square,  and  less  than  the 
one  under,  with  a  shrine  at  the  top.  The  numbers 
three,  five,  and  seven  were  sacred,  the  first  repre- 
senting the  divine  Triad,  the  second  the  five 
planets,  and  the  last  the  seven  stars  of  heaven. 
Religion  being  bound  up  with  star-worship  and 
astrology,  the  Akkad  pyramids  served  as  observa- 
tories, if  not  originally  partly  designed  for  that 
end,  and  therefore  have  their  corners  adjusted  to 
the  four  cardinal  points.  The  great  mound,  Babil, 
among  the  ruins  of  Babylon,  represents  the  tem- 
ple of  Bel,  which  was  a  pyramid  of  eight  square 
stages,  with  a  winding  ascent  to  the  top  platform. 
There  stood  an  image  of  gold  forty  feet  high, 
two  other  statues  of  gold,  a  table  (forty  feet  by 
fifteen),  and  two  other  colossal  objects  all  of  the 
same  precious  metal.  The  famous  mound,  Birs 
Nimrud,  has  been  proved  to  be  the  ruins  of  the 
"  Temple  of  the  Seven  Spheres,"  a  national  struc- 
ture finally  rebuilt  by  Nebuchadnezzar  the  Great, 
who  informs  us  that  the  original  tower  had  ex- 
isted many  ages  previously.  The  entire  height 
of  this  temple  was  only  156  feet,  but  the  general 
effect  of  its  appearance  would  be  very  striking  to 
any  modern  observer,  since  each  of  the  seven 
stages  was  a  mass  of  one  colour  different  from  all 
the  others,  and  representing  symbolically  one  of 
"  seven  stars  of  heaven."  The  first,  Saturn,  black, 
the  masonry  being  covered  with  bitumen ;  the 
second,  Jupiter,  orange,  by  a  facing  of  orange 
bricks ;  the  third,  Mars,  blood-red,  by  bricks  of 


34         EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

that  color;  the  fourth,  the  Sun,  covered  with 
plates  of  gold ;  the  fifth,  Venus,  pale  yellow,  by 
suitable  bricks ;  the  sixth,  Mercury,  blue,  by 
vitrification,  the  whole -stage  having  been  sub- 
jected to  intense  heat  after  building  ;  the  seventh 
stage,  the  Moon,  probably  covered  with  plates  of 
silver. 

The  "  happy  valley  "  of  Babylonia,  watered  by 
the  twin-rivers,  had  long  been  possessed  by  the 
Akkads  and  allied  tribes  of  Turanian  descent, 
when  new  races  began  to  join  them  from  the 
south  and  west.  These  strangers  were  from  the 
Semitic  or  Syro-Arabic  race,  which  has  already 
been  described.  There  are  proofs  that  from  a 
very  early  period  this  mixture  of  races  had  be- 
gun, and  at  4000  B.C.  the  Semites  were  already 
part  of  the  population  in  North  Babylonia.  A 
leading  German  Assyriologist  therefore  argues 
that  the  culture  of  the  Akkads  must  have  reached 
its  completed  form  between  5000  and  6000  B.C. 
It  is  evident,  further,  that  in  their  previous  homes, 
before  they  reached  the  Euphrates  Valley,  those 
Turanian  mountaineers  must  have  passed  through 
a  long  process  of  primitive  civilization,  so  as  to 
become  much  more  humanized  and  cultured  than 
the  nomadic  tribes  of  Arabia  and  Syria.  The 
Semitic  new-comers,  after  gaining  a  settlement 
in  the  richer  towns  for  trading  purposes,  speedily 
learned  the  language  of  the  country  by  adapting 
themselves  to  the  religion  and  manners,  and  as- 
similated the  Akkad  civilisation.  As  the  years  go 
by,  Semitic  words  become  more  and  more  fre- 
quent in  the  cuneiform  inscriptions,  and  faces  of 
a  Semitic  cast  which  now  appear  in  the  sculptures 
prove  that  the  new-comers  have  become  an  inte- 
gral part  of  the  population.  Thus  was  formed 


CHALDEA  AND   BABYLONIA.  35 

the  Assyrian  literature  and  language,  as  well  as 
the  Assyrian  race,  although  there  was  not  yet 
any  Assyian  State  or  kingdom.  The  country  was 
to  be  called  Babylonia  or  Chaldea  for  centuries 
before  Assyria  should  prevail.  Sargon  I,  a  dis- 
tinguished King  of  Babylonia,  was,  however,  of 
Semitic  blood,  and  though  a  usurper,  did  perma- 
nent good  by  religious  reforms  and  attention  to 
learning  and  libraries.  The  mode  in  which  his 
date  was  fixed  has  already  been  referred  to  :  how 
in  550  B.C.  the  last  king  of  Babylon,  when  ex- 
cavating at  Sippar  to  rebuild  the  great  Sun  Tem- 
ple, found  the  cuneiform  cylinder  left  by  Sargon 
when  laying  the  foundations  of  the  first  temple 
3,200  years  previously.  On  a  statue  of  Sargon 
in  his  capital  there  is  a  remarkable  inscription  to 
say  that,  when  an  infant,  his  mother  placed  him 
in  a  basket  of  rushes,  and,  after  closing  the  door 
of  his  ark  with  bitumen,  launched  him  on  the 
Euphrates,  whence  soon  after  he  was  rescued  by 
a  water-carrier,  who  brought  him  up  as  his  own 
child.  He  was  afterward,  he  says,  chosen  leader 
of  a  band  in  the  mountains,  and  in  due  time  be- 
came king.  Sargon  left  great  buildings  at  Sippar 
and  Nipur,  as  well  as  in  Babylon. 

A  foreign  dynasty,  that,  for  six  centuries,  held 
South  Babylonia,  were  the  Kosseans,  a  warlike 
and  enterprising  race,  who  descended  from  the 
mountainous  lands  of  Elam  on  the  east.  The 
Egyptian  inscriptions  mention  that  their  kings 
sent  letters  and  presents  to  the  Pharaohs.  It  is 
not  known  whether  they  are  akin  to  the  Elam- 
ites,  a  people  who  had  always  been  at  war  with 
the  Babylonians,  and  one  of  whose  recorded  in- 
vasions (to  which  reference  must  be  made  when 
speaking  of  Esarhaddon)  was  several  centuries 


36         EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

before  the  advent  of  this  dynasty.  During  the 
Kossean  rule,  beginning  about  1749  B.C.,  many 
improvements  were  made  in  Babylonia,  includ- 
ing the  building  of  two  great  temples — one  in 
the  capital  to  Bel,  and  another  at  Borsippa  to 
Nebo. 

The  Elamites  on  the  east  were  often  descend- 
ing on  South  Babylonia  to  plunder  and  destroy, 
and  one  of  their  kings,  known  to  readers  of  the 
Bible  as  Chedorlaomer,  not  only  annexed  part  of 
Chaldea,  but  marched  westward  across  the  Ara- 
bian desert  and  gained  a  celebrated  victory  in 
the  district  of  the  Jordan  and  "  Lake  Siddim." 
This  was  the  battle  of  "  Four  Kings  against  Five," 
in  which  Lot  was  taken,  and  carried  away  from 
Sodom  "with  all  his  goods."  Lot's  uncle,  the 
patriarchal  founder  of  the  race  of  Israel,  having 
pursued  the  victorious  army  of  the  Elamites  and 
Chaldeans  as  far  as  Damascus,  attacked  them  by 
night,  and  rescued  "  and  brought  back  Lot  and 
his  goods  and  the  women  also  and  the  people." 
One  of  the  four  kings  is  called  "  Amraphel,  king  of 
Shinar,"  and  is  no  doubt  Amarpal,  a  king  of 
Babylon,  since  u  Shinar,"  as  we  have  already  seen, 
was  merely  the  Hebrew  spelling  of  Shumir,  South 
Babylonia.  Amarpal  had  a  son  Hammurabi, 
more  famous  than  himself,  of  whom  mention  has 
already  been  made. 

In  the  fourteenth  century  B.C.  Tiglath  Adar 
of  Assyria  took  Babylon  and  established  a  new 
Semitic  dynasty.  Till  then  Assyria  had  grown  in 
the  northern  part  of  the  Tigris  valley  from  a 
province  into  a  petty  kingdom,  which  long  re- 
mained a  dependency  of  Babylonia.  The  first 
capital  was  Assur  on  the  Tigris,  and  when  the 
government  was  transferred  to  Nineveh,  further 


CHALDEA   AND   BABYLONIA.  37 

up  the  river,  the  worship  of  Assur  (giving  name 
to  the  kingdom,  Assyria)  was  also  transferred. 
Travellers,  on  seeing  the  immense  mounds  at 
Nineveh,  Nimrud,  and  Khorsabad,  in  the  north- 
ern part  of  the  Tigris  valley,  wonder  why  the 
Assyrians  persisted  in  using  only  crumbling 
bricks  to  build  their  temples  and  palaces,  since 
the  district  abounds  in  good  building-stone,  lime- 
stone, and  basalt,  &c.,  and  the  Median  mountains 
on  the  east  are  close  by.  In  fact,  the  Assyrians 
did  use  stone  to  case  and  protect  their  brick- 
work, but  so  lacked  the  inventive  and  adaptable 
genius  of  their  Akkad  neighbours  that  they  con- 
tinued making  and  piling  up  bricks  as  they  had 
been  taught  to  do  when  they  lived  in  the  lower 
Euphrates  valley.  The  Semitic  races  generally 
excel  in  trading  and  finance,  and  some  of  them, 
as  the  Assyrians,  became  warlike,  but  none  of 
them  have  equalled  Europeans,  or  even  the 
Turanians,  in  the  mechanical  or  fine  arts  or  in 
science.  The  new  empire  was  distinctly  a  more 
formidable  state  than  its  predecessor,  the  whole, 
country  becorfling  a  land  of  soldiers;  and  from 
their  later  conquests  and  grandeur,  Rawlinson^' 
calls  the  Assyrians  the  "  Romans  of  Asia."  ^ 

An  inscription  belonging  to  the  middle  of  the</y 
twelfth  century  B.C.  speaks  of  Nebuchadnezzar^ 
I.  having  one  campaign  against  the  Assyrians  of 
the  north,  and  another  against  some  Elamite 
chiefs.  Many  other  wars  occurred  between  Nine- 
veh and  Babylon, — due  mainly  to  the  ambitious 
and  aggressive  spirit  of  the  northern  kingdom, — 
till  finally  the  new  state  had  complete  predomi- 
nance. The  golden  age  of  Assyria  as  an  empire 
was  the  century  from  721  B.C.  to  625  B.C.  Tig- 
lath-Pileser  had  taken  Babylon  and  driven  the 


38        EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE  EAST. 

Babylonian  king  from  his  power.  This  Tiglath 
is  now  identified  with  "  Pul,  the  King  of  Assyria," 
to  whom  Menahem  gave  a  thousand  talents  of 
silver  "  exacted  from  the  mighty  men  of  wealth 
in  Israel,"  in  order  "  to  confirm  the  kingdom  in 
his  hand."  Under  Sargon  II.  three  great  palaces 
were  built,  two  in  the  capital  and  one  at  Khor- 
sabad,  the  Versailles  of  Nineveh,  overlooking  the 
upper  valley  of  the  Tigris,  where  many  famous 
sculptures  still  perpetuate  his  glory.  This  king 
extended  his  empire  to  Samaria,  Arabia,  and 
Syria,  levying  contributions  even  from  Cyprus,  a 
distant  island  in  "  the  Sea  of  the  West."  In  705 
B.C.  the  famous  Sennacherib  conquered  Phoenicia 
and  Egypt,  and  on  his  return  to  Assyria  led 
"  200,000  Hebrews  and  other  Syrians "  captive. 
Many  of  his  monumental  sculptures  are  pre- 
served in  the  British  Museum,  chiefly  excavated 
from  the  ruins  of  two  temples  which  he  had  built 
in  Nineveh,  one  on  the  site  of  an  ancient  one 
dating  from  1350  B.  c.  It  is  of  his  general  ("  Tar- 
tan "  in  the  Bible,  Sargon  in  the  cuneiform  inscrip- 
tions) that  Byron  wrote  : — 

"  The  Assyrian  came  down  like  a  wolf  on  the  fold, 
And  his  cohorts  were  gleaming  in  purple  and  gold, 
And  the  sheen  of  his  spears,"  &c.,  &c. 

But  no  reference  in  the  cuneiform  records  has 
yet  been  found  to  the  story  of  the  Destroying 
Angel.  The  well-known  "  Taylor  cylinder  "  gives 
details  of  the  siege  of  Jerusalem;  other  incidents 
of  the  campaign,  e.g.,  the  capture  of  Lachish,  are 
on  a  series  of  slabs  in  the  British  Museum. 
The  Khorsabad  inscriptions  give  the  exploits  of 
"Tartan."  Sennacherib  completely  destroyed 
Babylon,  the  rival  capital,  and  tried  to  render 


CHALDEA   AND    BABYLONIA. 


39 


even  the  site  unrecognisable.  u  I  pulled  down, 
I  dug  up,  I  burned  and  destroyed  fortresses, 
temples  and  towers ;  I  threw  all  the  rubbish  into 
the  river." 

His  greater  son,  however,  Esarhaddon,  rebuilt 
Babylon,  as  being  more  central  to  the  empire 
than  Nineveh,  the  northern  capital.  He  also 
greatly  extended  the  rule  of  this  warlike  race, 
having  conducted  ten  invading  expeditions,  ac- 
cording to  the  inscriptions.  The  grandson  of 
Sennacherib  was  Assur-banipal,  the  greatest  of 
all  the  line  of  Assyrian  or  Babylonian  princes 
who  governed  the  plains  of  Chaldea.  His  name 
in  the  Old  Testament  is  written  Esarhaddon  or 
Asser-haddon-Pul,  which  gave  Serhadonpul,  and, 
finally,  Sardonapalus  of  the  classical  writers  and 
our  former  historians.  His  history,  as  now  read 
in  the  Assyrian  sculptures  and  writings,  proves 
that  his  character  and  genius  were  misunderstood 
by  Byron  and  other  poets,  ancient  and  modern, 
and  that  he  was  very  different  from  a  weak, 
effeminate  Sultan,  devoting  his  thoughts  to  the 
mere  gratification  of  commonplace  desire.  Assur- 
banipal  was  the  most  powerful  and  enlightened 
monarch  of  his  time,  full  of  insight  and  energy, 
not  less  distinguished  by  the  administration  of 
his  empire  than  by  his  appreciation  of  art  and 
literature.  His  great  monument,  greater  than  any 
imperial  sculptures,  is  the  library  and  "  univer- 
sity "  which  he  founded  "  for  the  instruction  (say 
the  tablets)  of  the  people  of  Nineveh."  The  dis- 
covery of  this  national  storehouse  of  records 
almost  compensates  the  literary  world  for  the 
loss  of  the  Alexandrian  library.* 

*  See  article  "  Chronology,"  by  the  present  writer,  in  "  Cham- 
bers's  Encyclop.,"  II.  226. 


40         EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF   THE   EAST. 

Assur-banipaTs  cuneiform  records  have,  like 
the  finding  o'f  King  Sargon's  cylinder  at  Sippar, 
fixed  one  of  the  early  dates.  In  a  war  against 
the  Elamites,  645  B.C.,  he  destroyed  their  capital, 
Shushan,  which  is  not  far  east  of  the  Tigris,  and 
tells  us  that  he  found  there  a  Chaldean  image 
which,  1635  years  previously,  had  been  removed 
from  the  temple  in  Erech  on  the  Euphrates. 
Therefore,  in  2280  years  B.C.,  the  Elamites  had 
found  wealthy  temples  in  South  Babylonia,  a  fact 
implying  the  residence  of  a  cultured  population 
for  generations  before. 

In  the  palace  near  Nineveh,  which,  though,  of 
course,  only  a  great  mound,  has  been  identified 
as  that  built  by  Assur-banipal,  Layard,  the  great 
explorer,  found  a  mass  of  broken  bricks,  which 
afterwards  proved  to  be  of  the  greatest  interest. 
When  packed  in  cases  and  sent  to  London,  the 
confused  mass  of  rubbish,  as  it  seemed,  was,  after 
some  years,  sorted  and  arranged  by  George 
Smith,  of  the  British  Museum,  with  such  ad- 
mirable skill  that  the  famous  u  Deluge  Myth," 
an  entire  poem  of  the  first  importance,  was 
rescued  from  the  oblivion  of  ages.  After  visiting 
Nineveh,  he  completed  his  work  by  a  search 
of  the  "  Archive  Chambers "  of  Assur-banipal, 
and  proved  that  the  poem  previously  found  was 
but  one  incident  of  the  national  epic  of  Babylonia, 
much  of  which  he  brought  to  England.  We  need 
only  add  that  men  of  culture  in  all  lands  must 
ever  consider  George  Smith  a  benefactor  to  the 
republic  of  letters. 

In  the  same  mound  Layard  unearthed  from 
one  chamber  a  wonderful  treasury  of  antiquities 
illustrating  the  private  life  of  a  monarch  who 
lived  twenty-five  centuries  ago.  Some  of  these 


CHALDEA  AND   BABYLONIA.  41 

were  bowls,  cups,  and  other  dishes  of  bronze, 
some  of  most  beautiful  design ;  kettles,  shields, 
and  pieces  of  armour;  great  numbers  of  buttons 
or  studs,  and  brooches  in  ivory  and  mother-of- 
pearl,  as  well  as  in  metal.  Several  vessels  were 
of  a  sort  of  glass.  There  were  also  found  the 
fragments  of  a  massive  chair,  supposed  to  have 
been  the  actual  throne  of  King  Sennacherib  when 
the  palace  yet  stood.  The  walls  around  still  pre- 
served in  sculptures  and  cuneiform  letters  the 
records  of  his  power  and  renown. 

Assur-banipal  ruled  over  Assyria,  668-626  B.C., 
when  the  empire  was  in  the  zenith  of  brilliancy 
and  culture,  her  schools  attracting  scholars  from 
all  lands;  her  markets  crowded  with  traders  from 
India  and  Persia,  Egypt  and  Arabia,  Damascus 
and  Smyrna;  her  trading  fleets  on  the  coasts  of 
the  south  and  north  and  west.  The  brother  of 
Assur-banipal  was  made  King  of  Babylon,  hold- 
ing the  government  till  648  B.C.  That  helped  to 
restore  some  political  prestige  to  the  southern 
capital,  which,  in  fact,  in  604  B.C.,  became  again 
the  centre  of  the  empire  by  the  ascent  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar the  Great  to  the  throne  of  Babylon. 

Just  before  his  accession  Nebuchadnezzar  had 
distinguished  himself  as  a  general.  After  defeat- 
ing the  powerful  Pharaoh-Necho,  who  had  over- 
run Syria  and  threatened  to  cross  the  Euphrates, 
he  had  subdued  Palestine  anji-^lioenicia.  After- 
wards he  again  invaded  Syria,  to  punish  the 
Tyrians  and  Jews  for  revolting ;  and,  after  sack- 
ing Jerusalem,  executing  Jehoiakim,  and  destroy- 
ing the  temple  of  Solomon,  he  sent  most  of  the 
Hebrew  nation  into  captivity  at  Babylon.  Next 
year  he  captured  Tyre,  after  one  of  the  longest 
sieges  recorded  in  history :  according  to  Strabo, 


42        EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF   THE   EAST. 

his  conquests  extended  westward  through  Libya, 
even  as  far  as  Spain.  In  the  Old  Testament 
the  predominant  greatness  of  Nebuchadnezzar  is 
expressed  by  the  phrase  used  by  the  prophet : 
"Thou,  O  king,  art  a  king  of  kings,  for  God  hath 
given  thee  a  kingdom,  power,  and  strength,  and 
glory  " ; — and  by  the  list  of  the  royal  officers, 
given  repeatedly, — "  the  princes,  the  governors, 
and  the  captains,  the  judges,  the  treasurers,  the 
counsellors,  the  sheriffs,  and  all  the  rulers  of  the 
provinces." 

Nebuchadnezzar  not  only  rebuilt  his  capital, 
which  had  so  long  been  neglected  by  the  Assyr- 
ian kings,  but  restored  every  important  temple 
and  other  edifice  throughout  the  empire.  It  was 
under  this  monarch  that  Babylon  became  mis- 
tress of  the  world, — a  metropolis  so  enormous 
in  population  and  wealth  as,  like  Thebes  of  the 
earlier  ages,  and  London  in  modern  times,  to  be- 
come proverbial  in  all  languages. 

The  last  King  of  Babylon,  555  B.C.  (six  years 
after  the  death  of  Nebuchadnezzar),  was  Naboni- 
dus,  and  the  fall  of  Babylon  under  him  and  his 
son  Belshazzar  belongs  to  the  history  of  Cyrus 
the  Great  (see  Chap.  VI.).  After  that  the  em- 
pire was  degraded  to  a  Persian  province,  and 
classical  history  takes  the  place  of  the  long 
line  of  annals  supplied  by  the  extinct  Akkad 
tongue. 

The  Babylonian  epic  of  the  heroic  Ishdubar 
was  written  in  the  Akkad  times,,  when  Erech  was 
the  capital  of  Shumir,  the  southern  division  of  the 
land.  The  poem  has  not  been  completely  recov- 
ered ;  but  much  that  we  have  shows  imaginative 
and  graphic  power,  with  some  passages  of  great 
beauty.  The  artists  of  various  periods  during 


CHALDEA   AND    BABYLONIA.  43 

the  empire  frequently  supplied  designs  to  illus- 
trate the  national  bard. 

A  wise  and  solitary  hermit  or  seer  is  thus 
described : — 

"  With  the  gazelles  at  night  he  ate  his  food, 
By  daytime  with  the  beasts  o'  the  field  he  lived, 
His  heart  rejoiced  when  living  things  he  saw 
In  stream  or  pool." 

Ishdubar  sends  two  maids,  Grace  and  Persua- 
sion, to  the  seer,  to  bring  him,  if  possible,  by  fair 
words.  One  of  them  argues  thus  : — 

"  Famous  art  thou,  O  seer,  even  like  a  god  ;  why  then 
associate  with  the  wild  things  of  the  forest  ?  Thy  place  is  in 
the  midst  of  Erech,  the  great  city,  in  the  temple,  in  the  palace 
of  Ishdubar,  the  man  of  might,  who  towers  amidst  the  leaders 
as  a  bull !  " 

She  spoke  to  him,  and  at  her  words  the  wisdom  of  his 
heart  fled  and  vanished.  He  answered — 

"  I  will  go  to  Erech  to  the  temple,  the  seat  of  Anu  and 
Ishtar,  to  the  palace  of  Ishdubar,  the  man  of  might,  who 
towers  amidst  the  leaders  as  a  bull.  But  I  shall  bring  to 
Erech  a  lion — let  Ishdubar  destroy  him  if  he  can.  He  is 
bred  in  the  wilderness,  and  of  great  strength." 

After  the  fight  between  Ishdubar  and  the  lion, 
which  is  missing  in  the  tablets,  the  hero  and  the 
seer  become  fast  friends,  and  start  against  Kum- 
baba,  an  Elamite  tyrant  who  lives  in  a  gloomy 
forest  of  cedars  and  cypresses.  [It  will  be  re- 
membered that  throughout  Chaldean  history  the 
Elamites  on  the  eastern  frontier  were  bitter  foes.] 
The  tyrant  killed,  and  his  body  left  to  "all  the 
birds  of  prey,"  Ishdubar  is  proclaimed  king  in 
Erech.  Among  other  episodes,  the  hero  visits 
the  Waters  of  Death,  which  separate  the  land  of 
the  living  from  that  of  the  blessed  and  immortal 
dead.  He  persuades  the  ferryman  to  row  him 


44         EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE  EAST. 

across  the  grim  river,  a  journey  of  a  month  and 
a  half,  in  order  to  consult  his  ancestor  Hasisadra. 
When  speaking  to  this  immortal,  Ishdubar  sud- 
denly asks  how  he  came  to  be  translated  alive  to 
the  assembly  of  the  gods  ?  The  reply  was  the 
Deluge  story,  telling  what  share  Hasisadra  had 
in  it,  and  how  Bel  rewarded  him  by  giving  him 
and  his  wife  immortality. 

Ishdubar  had  previously  lost  his  friend,  the 
seer,  by  a  sudden  death  inflicted  by  an  angry 
goddess,  and  now,  on  again  returning  to  the 
ordinary  world,  he  began  to  weep,  as  he  thought 
of  his  dead  friend,  and  cried  sadly:  — 

"  Thou  takest  no  part  in  the  noble  feast,  to  the  assembly 
they  call  thee  not,  thou  liftest  not  the  bow,  what  is  hit  by  the 
bow  is  not  for  thee  ;  the  wife  thou  lovest  thou  kissest  not,  the 
child  thou  lovest  thou  kissest  not.  The  might  of  the  earth 
has  swallowed  thee.  O  Darkness,  Darkness,  Mother  Dark- 
ness !  thou  enfoldest  him  like  a  mantle,  like  a  deep  well  thou 
enclosest  him ! " 

The  hero  went  into  the  temple  of  Bel  and 
ceased  not  from  prayer  till  Ea  sent  his  son  to 
bring  the  seer's  soul  from  the  dark  world  of 
shades  into  the  land  of  the  blessed,  there  to  live 
for  ever  among  the  heroes  of  old,  reclining  on 
luxurious  couches  and  drinking  the  pure  water  of 
eternal  springs. 

The  preceding  epic  poem  is  the  oldest  in  the 
world,  having,  according  to  the  best  chronologists, 
been  written  over  4000  years  before  the  present 
time. 

The  classical  writers,  and  all  historians  previ- 
ous to  the  Nineveh  excavations,  gave  the  first 
place  to  Assyria  as  compared  with  Babylonia ; 
whereas,  from  the  present  standpoint,  illustrated 
in  the  preceding  pages,  the  former  power  was 


ANCIENT   EGYPT. 


45 


entirely  subordinate  to  the  latter,  unless  for  about 
six  or  seven  hundred  years.  Babylonia,  inherit- 
ing the  language  and  culture  of  the  Akkads,  or 
"primitive  Chaldeans,"  was  not  only  first  in  order 
of  time,  but  as  mother-country  supplied  Assyria 
with  her  religion,,  literature,  art,  and  science; 
Assyria,  from  her  large  Semitic  element  of  popu- 
lation was  keener,  in  several  respects  more  strenu- 
ous, and  proved  herself  more  warlike  ;  but  all 
through  the  long  history  of  the  empire,  which  had 
its  seat  in  the  Euphrato-Tigris  valley,  both  states 
were  closely  intertwined  in  their  politics  and 
mutually  indebted,  though  still  retaining  their 
separate  nationalities. 


CHAPTER    III. 

ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

WHAT  is  now  known  of  the  extinct  civilization 
of  the  Nile  Valley  ?  We  cannot  tell  how  or  when 
it  began,  nor  how  it  was  developed,  but  from  the 
inscriptions  already  found  and  interpreted,  we 
learn  that  long  before  the  date  4000  B.C.  the 
Egyptians  excelled  the  neighbouring  states  and 
the  whole  of  Europe  in  culture  and  science,  as 
well  as  in  wealth  and  luxury.  They  had  a  "pure 
and  beneficent  religion,"  based  according  to  Dean 
Stanley,  on  a  true  monotheism  and  belief  in  a 
future  state.  In  certain  phases,  however,  it 
almost  appears  pantheistic,  life  in  all  its  multi- 
tudinous forms  suggesting  to  the  Egyptian  mind 
the  influence  of  an  omnipresent  divinity. 

The  earliest  race  of  whom  we  now  have  sys- 


EGYPT 

AND 

WESTERN 

ARABIA 

English  Miles 


ANCIENT   EGYPT.  47 

tematic  knowledge  lived  in  northern  Egypt,  and 
greatly  contrasted  with  their  Theban  or  Nubian 
successors  who  long  afterwards  ruled  over  both 
Egypts,  Upper  and  Lower,  or  southern  and 
northern.  That  early  race  were  unwarlike  and 
of  simpler  habits  ;  satisfied  with  the  natural  wealth 
of  the  land,  they  lived  for  countless  generations 
an  active  and  joyous  life,  chiefly  employed  in 
growing  crops  and  vegetables,  rearing  sheep  and 
cattle,  hunting  and  fishing.  For  innumerable 
centuries  their  fertile  soil  has  yielded  every  year 
a  threefold  harvest, — the  first  being  grain  re- 
turned a  hundredfold,  and  then  two  crops  of 
vegetables  or  grasses.  Thus  their  whole  agri- 
cultural life,  as  seen  pictured  in  the  tombs  and  in 
the  monuments,  was  of  a  simple  and  unartificial 
character  ;  the  plough,  for  example,  drawn  by 
the  oxen,  being  sometimes  merely  a  crooked 
stick.  The  various  details  of  farm  life  were  so 
essential  a  part  of  the  Egyptian's  experience  that 
in  some  of  their  artistic  representations  of  a 
happy  existence  after  death  we  see  the  souls 
of  the  blessed  still  employed  in  tilling,  sowing, 
reaping,  and  winnowing.  Some  very  ancient 
tombs  show  pictures  of  large  farms  abounding 
with  flocks  and  herds,  besides  parks  for  antelopes, 
storks,  and  various  kinds  of  geese.  The  food  of 
the  masses,  apart  from  grain,  and  sometimes  milk 
and  eggs,  was  largely  of  vegetables ;  and  in  the 
inscriptions  we  find  lentils,  onions,  leeks,  and 
garlic;  endive,  radishes,  and  lettuces;  melons 
and  cucumbers.  The  richer  classes  had  abun- 
dance of  fish  and  flesh  of  various  animals.  The 
paintings  often  give  scenes  of  fishermen  and 
fowlers  at  work  or  amusement,  and  occasionally 
a  gentleman,  accompanied  by  servants  to  assist 


48        EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF   THE   EAST. 

in  the  sport,  and  his  children  to  share  the  enjoy- 
ment. One  of  the  early  kings,  Amenemhat,  says : 
"I  hunted  the  lion,  and  brought  back  the  croco- 
dile a  prisoner" — a  proof  that  then  lions  some- 
times invaded  the  Nile  Valley. 

We  see  in  their  pictures  those  earliest  Egyp- 
tians taking  fish  by  angling  and  spearing;  felling 
birds  by  throwing  a  boomerang;  hunting  either 
on  foot  or  in  chariots,  and  using  spears  or  some- 
times the  lasso.  Snares  were  used  for  large 
animals,  and  network  spring  traps  for  small  birds. 
For  coursing,  the  huntsman  also  used  dogs,  as  we 
do,  and  it  must  be  noted  that  the  Egyptians  had 
many  breeds  of  dogs,  some  exported  from  Ethi- 
opia. From  the  tomb-sculptures  they  appear  to 
have  been  almost  universal  as  pets.  Many  of  the 
species  are  beautifully  drawn  to  show  their  grace 
and  agility  ;  others  seem  to  have  been  favourites 
on  account  of  their  ugliness,  like  some  of  the  pets 
affected  by  our  own  ladies  of  fashion.  Amongst 
other  recreations,  we  see  wrestling  and  various 
gymnastics,  juggling,  games  with  balls,  quoits 
(apparently),  and  a  species  of  draught-board.  In 
several  tombs  children's  toys  have  been  found. 

It  is  as  builders  of  the  Pyramids,  however, 
that  the  earliest  Egyptians  are  best  known, — those 
huge  cairns  or  tomb  monuments  over  their  kings, 
which  have  stood  throughout  human  history  to 
prove  the  magnificence  of  a  cultured  race  who 
lived  many  centuries  before  the  time  of  Abraham, 
the  Hebrew  patriarch.  The  Pyramids,  however, 
have  served  not  so  much  as  a  witness  of  pride 
and  ostentation  as  for  the  unconscious  "  com- 
memoration of  a  noble  idea,"  the  Egyptian  belief 
in  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  For  over  fifty 
centuries,  according  to  Prof.  Lepsius,  or  sixty, 


ANCIENT   EGYPT.  49 

according  to  Dr.  Brugsch,  have  those  royal  tombs 
been  a  feature  in  the  scenery  of  Lower  Egypt,  but 
it  was  not  till  our  own  time  that  their  builders 
were  perfectly  known.  From  the  records  it  is  now 
ascertained  that  King  Khufu  (the  "Cheops  "of 
Herodotus)  had  his  sarcophagus  in  the  largest, 
King  Khafra  or  Kephren  in  the  second,  and 
King  Menkaura  ("  Mycerinus  ")  in  the  third. 

The  pyramids,  with  other  evidence  besides  the 
records,  prove  that  the  early  Egyptians  had  al- 
ready acquired  very  great  skill  in  architecture, 
mechanics,  and  engineering.  Such  acquirements 
must  presuppose  a  regular  education  in  their 
colleges  and  elementary  schools,  with  sound  in- 
struction in  arithmetic,  geometry,  and  drawing. 
Elsewhere  we  have  proof,  that  like  the  ancient 
Chaldeans,  they  had  for  generations  studied  the 
stars,  and  acquired  some  knowledge  of  astronomy, 
dividing  the  year  into  twelve  months,  which  cor- 
responded to  their  twelve  constellations,  now 
called  the  Signs  of  the  Zodiac.  This  division  of 
the  heavens  led,  at  a  very  remote  time,  to  the 
division  of  the  year  into  twelve  months;  hence 
the  division  of  a  circle  into  360  degrees,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  early  Babylonians.  One  "  astronomi- 
cal ceiling  "  of  the  Egyptians  represents  the  vari- 
ous races  of  mankind  as  then  imagined, — first,  the 
Asiatics,  in  long  robes,  with  feathers  on  their 
heads,  the  East  being  "the  beginning  of  the 
world";  next,  the  Africans  or  black  men  of  the 
south;  thirdly,  the  white  men  of  the  north,  with 
blue  eyes  and  kilts;  lastly,  the  red  men,  repre- 
senting Egypt,  the  centre  of  the  world,  the  pure 
nation. 

We  have  some  religious  books,  and  a  code  of 
manners  dating  from  3000  to  4000  B.C.  The 
4 


50        EXTINCT  CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE   EAST. 

sculpture  of  that  early  period  kept  pace  with  the 
architecture,  so  that  some  existing  specimens, 
though  of  so  great  an  age,  bear  comparison,  for 
skill  in  design  and  delicacy  of  execution,  with  the 
workmanship  of  even  the  Grecian  artists  who, 
at  a  much  later  period,  became  world-famous. 
Many  of  the  artisans  are  seen  at  work  in  the 
pictures,  with  curious  details  of  their  methods 
and  tools.  Potters  were  very  common,  since  the 
wheel,  the  mode  of  baking  cups  and  bowls,  and 
other  related  processes,  are  often  pictured. 

The  skill  of  the  Egyptians  in  glass-blowing 
and  other  arts  seems  to  prove  a  considerable 
knowledge  of  chemistry ;  some  kinds  of  their 
glass  with  waving  lines  of  different  colours  were 
greatly  prized  by  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  Blue 
coating  on  some  of  the  figures,  and  the  opaque 
eyes  of  mummy  cases,  prove  that  the  process 
called  "  vitrifying  "  was  known  even  in  Dynasty 
IV. ;  and  some  specimens  of  faience  are  remark- 
ably fine.  Goldsmiths  appear  frequently  at  work, 
with  blow-pipe,  forceps,  and  other  tools,  and  the 
ruder  processes  of  washing  and  smelting  the  ore 
are  also  shown.  The  goldsmith's  balance  was 
extremely  delicate.  Wood  and  other  materials 
were  at  a  very  early  period  overlaid  with  gold 
leaf.  Gold  was  known  before  silver,  and  there- 
fore the  Egyptian  name  for  the  latter,  which  was 
considered  more  valuable,  was  "  white  gold."  Be- 
fore 4000  B.C.  bronze  was  constantly  used,  and 
iron  appears  in  a  very  early  picture  of  some 
butchers  sharpening  their  knives  on  a  bar. 
Amongst  many  other  instruments,  some  scarcely 
explained,  we  find  several  ingenious  balances, — 
some  portable, — one  capable  of  being  folded  as  if 
to  put  in  the  pocket.  The  early  Egyptians  had 


ANCIENT  EGYPT.  51 

also  invented  the  artificial  hatching  of  eggs;  and, 
according  to  Cuvier,  the  naturalist,  the  bone  of 
an  ibis  which  he  was  shown  had  been  set  after 
being  fractured.  In  fact,  one  of  their  paintings, 
nearly  4000  years  old,  represents  some  sick  ani- 
mals being  treated. 

Many  centuries  older  than  the  pyramids  was 
the  foundation  of  Memphis,  the  capital,  by  Menes, 
the  earliest  king  of  whom  we  have  distinct  and 
positive  record.  In  the  building  of  this  city  he 
began  with  a  great  work  of  engineering,  turning 
the  mighty  river  into  an  artificial  channel  to  serve 
as  a  protection  against  invasion  from  the  eastern 
deserts.  This  enterprise  alone  proves  that  in  the 
middle  of  the  forty-fifth  century  B.C.  Egypt  had 
already  risen  to  very  great  power  and  wealth 
among  nations.  The  fate  of  Memphis  in  subse- 
quent ages  was  a  contrast  to  that  of  Southern 
Thebes,  afterwards  the  capital  of  Egypt's  "  Em- 
pire Kings,"  though  some  magnificent  remains 
were  still  seen  in  the  thirteenth  century  A.D.  by 
an  Arabian  traveller  from  Baghdad.  He  describes 
the  wonderful  size  and  beauty  of  the  temple  of 
Ptah,  so  far  as  it  still  remained,  with  its  "  mono- 
lithic shrine,"  eight  cubits  in  length  and  nine  in 
height,  doors  swinging  on  stone  hinges,  and 
statues  of  lions  and  other  figures,  stately  pillars 
and  masonry.  These  had  withstood  generations 
of  hostile  destruction,  but  were  afterwards  plun- 
dered to  build  mosques  and  palaces  in  Cairo. 
Nothing  now  remains  of  Memphis  but  its  royal 
tombs,  the  vast  extent  of  which  affords  a  measure 
of  the  many  ages  before  the  birth  of  the  Hebrew 
race  which  were  necessary  for  the  growth  of  such 
a  civilization.  The  tomb  of  the  sacred  Apis  is 
"  a  stupendous  excavation,"  according  to  Mr. 


52         EXTINCT  CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

Poole — a  series  of  grand  galleries,  with  chambers 
each  "  large  enough  to  hold  the  massive  sarcoph- 
agus of  a  mummied  bull." 

Memphis,  the  centre  of  all  the  power  belong- 
ing to  that  earliest  civilization,  was  the  abode  of 
Prah,  the  creator-god,  represented  to  the  imag- 
inative Egyptian  by  the  sacred  scarab,  consecrated 
as  the  symbol  of  a  self-produced  and  self-reliant 
Being.  The  temple  erected  by  Menes  (about  4455 
B.C.)  to  Ptah  was  enlarged  and  enriched  from  age 
to  age,  till  it  showed  a  succession  of  historical 
monuments,  tablets,  and  statues,  such  as  the 
grandest  of  European  cathedrals  could  not  pre- 
tend to  rival.  From  the  Memphian  Ptah  some 
scholars  have  derived  the  name  afterwards  given 
by  Homer  and  the  later  Greeks  to  the  whole 
kingdom  and  country  :  Ake-ptah,  AiyuTrros,  &gyp- 
tus,  "  Egypt." 

Kem  or  Chemi  (the  "  Black  Country  ")  was  a 
native  name  of  Egypt  from  the  colour  of  its  allu- 
vial soil,  source  of  its  nourishment,  population, 
and  wealth.  The  word  probably  still  survives  in 
the  words  "  vXchemy  "  and  "Miftristry,"  two  im- 
portant arts  derived  from  the  science  of  the 
Arabs,  who  inherited  much  of  the  extinct  civi- 
lization of  the  Nile  Valley.  The  Hebrew  name, 
Mizraim  (dual  form,  to  include  Lower  and  Upper 
Egypt)  is  from  the  Assyrian  Musr,  "  the  fortified 
land,"  and  hence  the  modern  names  "  Misr  "  and 
"  Masr." 

The  insect  and  animal  worship  of  the  Eyptians 
was  satirized  by  the  poet  Juvenal  and  other 
writers,  but  Egyptologists  now  explain  it  by  their 
reverence  for  life  as  the  symbol  of  divine  power, 
their  deep  sense  of  a  supernatural  creative  influ- 
ence. At  Memphis  was  the  chief  shrine  of  Ptah- 


ANCIENT   EGYPT.  53 

ra,  the  creator-god ;  at  Thebes  that  of  Amun-ra 
(uAmmon")  the  veiled  or  Unseen,  the  mystery 
of  existence;  Osiris,  the  "  Good,"  the  beneficent 
principle  pervading  the  Universe,  was  one  of 
those  worshipped  generally.  Ra,  or  On,  was 
originally  the  sun-god,  apparently  a  common  ob- 
ject of  worship  to  all  prehistoric  races,  Heli- 
opolis,  or  city  of  the  sun,  being  afterwards  the 
Greek  name  of  On,  the  town.  Horus,  the  Light- 
bringer,  weighed  the  heart  of  each  man  after 
his  death;  and  as  the  welfare  of  the  departed 
spirit  or  "  double "  was  connected  with  that  of 
the  deserted  body,  the  latter  ought  to  be  carefully 
preserved.  Hence  the  great  motive  for  embalm- 
ing their  dead  and  building  massive  tombs  for  the 
wealthy. 

The  Egyptian  belief  in  the  "  transmigration  of 
souls  " — a  doctrine  copied  by  some  of  the  Greek 
philosophers — also  fostered  the  religious  duty  of 
embalming.  The  soul  had  to  return  to  the  same 
human  form  after  a  long  cycle  of  years,  and 
therefore  the  body  must  be  artificially  preserved. 
Three  modes  of  embalming  are  described  by 
Herodotus  from  personal  observation :  the  most 
expensive  process  costing  over  ^720,  and  a 
cheaper,  about  a  third  as  much.  The  body  of  a 
poor  man  was  simply  washed  in  myrrh  after  being 
prepared,  and  then  salted  for  seventy  days.  Even 
malefactors  had  to  be  embalmed.  Some  mum- 
mies have  been  preserved  by  being  thoroughly 
dried  and  then  placed  in  dry  catacombs,  and 
others  by  being  soaked  in  bitumen.  The  practice 
of  embalming  was  continued  in  Egypt  till  about 
the  year  700  A.D. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  most  interesting  points  in 
connection  with  the  ancient  Egyptians,  later  than 


54        EXTINCT  CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE  EAST. 

the  pyramid-builders,  is  that  to  their  ingenuity 
we  owe  our  alphabet,  one  of  the  most  valuable  of 
all  our  inheritances.  To  prove  this  we  are  shown, 
in  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale,  Paris,  a  papyrus 
found  by  M.  Prisse  d'Avennes,  in  a  tomb  of  the 
Dynasty  XL,  and  called  "  the  oldest  book  in  the 
world."  It  consists  of  eighteen  pages,  "un- 
equalled for  size  and  beauty,"  written  in  black 
ink,  with  a  bold,  round,  cursive  character  which 
is  pronounced  to  be  the  prototype  of  the  letters 
afterwards  copied  by  the  Greeks  from  the  Phoe- 
nicians, and  thence  transmitted  to  the  Latins. 
Dr.  Taylor  points  out  that  Tacitus  had  already 
suspected  the  fact,  saying  that  the  Phoenicians, 
with  regard  to  the  invention  of  letters,  had  gained 
a  spurious  renown, — tanquam  repererint  quae  accepe- 
rant* 

Of  their  literary  work  we  have  specimens 
much  older  than  the  Prisse  papyrus,  and  some  of 
them  exhibit  a  religious  piety  which  older  his- 
torians of  Egypt  had  never  dreamt  of.  Take,  as 
a  sample : — 

"  The  son  who  obeys  his  father's  word  will  therefore  live 
to  a  good  old  age." — '*  The  disobedient  sees  knowledge  in 
ignorance,  virtue  in  vice  ;  his  daily  life  is  what  the  wise  man 
knows  to  be  death,  and  curses  follow  him  as  he  walks  in  his 
ways." 

In  a  collection  of  proverbs  of  the  same  ancient 
period  we  find  : — 

"  Happiness  finds  every  place  alike  good,  but  a  little  mis- 
fortune will  abase  a  very  great  man." — "  A  good  word  shines 
more  than  an  emerald  in  the  hand  of  a  slave  who  finds  it  in 
the  mire." — "  The  wise  man  is  satisfied  with  his  knowledge  ; 
his  heart  is  well  placed  ;  sweet  are  his  lips." 

#  Ann.  xi.  14. 


ANCIENT   EGYPT.  55 

A  later  specimen,  also  written  under  the  Mem- 
phian  kings,  is  the  account  given  by  Ameni, 
governor  of  a  province,  who  had  made  a  cam- 
paign on  Ethiopia  and  taken  charge  of  govern- 
ment caravans  bringing  gold  across  the  desert. 
He  says  : — 

"  The  whole  land  was  sown  from  north  to  south.  Thanks 
were  given  me  by  the  king's  household  for  the  tribute  of  large 
cattle.  Nothing  was  stolen  from  my  stores.  I  myself  la- 
boured, and  all  the  province  was  in  full  activity.  No  little 
child  was  ever  ill-treated  nor  widow  oppressed  by  me.  I 
have  never  troubled  the  fisherman,  nor  disturbed  the  shepherd. 
No  scarcity  took  place  in  my  time,  and  a  bad  harvest  brought 
no  famine,  I  gave  equally  to  the  widow  and  married  woman, 
and  in  my  judgments  I  did  not  favour  the  great  at  the  expense 
of  the  poor." 

Another  passage,  from  the  famous  inscription 
describing  how  Ahmes  expelled  the  Hyksos  or 
shepherd  race  from  the  Delta: — 

"  I  went  to  the  fleet  to  the  north  to  fight.  I  had  the  duty 
of  accompanying  the  King  when  he  mounted  his  chariot. 
And  when  the  fortress  of  Tanis  [Avaris]  was  besieged  I  fought 
on  foot  before  his  Majesty.  A  naval  battle  took  place  on  the 
water  called  the  watei  of  Tanis  [Lake  Menzaleh].  The 
praises  of  the  king  were  bestowed  on  me,  and  I  received  a 
golden  collar  for  bravery.  The  fortress  of  Tanis  was  taken." 

The  dress  of  the  Egyptians  is  seen  on  the 
monuments  to  have  gradually  improved  from  the 
simple  apron  and  kilt  of  early  times.  The  royal 
family  were  distinguished  from  the  great  men 
and  courtiers,  and  the  nobles  from  the  common 
people.  The  King  wore  the  high  crowns  of  the 
two  Egypts,  Upper  and  Lower,  the  former  a  sort 
of  conical  helmet,  and  the  latter  (over  the  other) 
a  short  cap  with  a  tall  point  behind.  The  Queen's 
head-dress  was  a  vulture  with  outspread  wings  on 
each  side,  the  bird's  head  coming  over  the  fore- 


56         EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF   THE    EAST 

head.  The  royal  asp  above  the  forehead  also 
distinguishes  the  Queen.  Women  at  first  wore  a 
close-fitting  gown  which  fell  to  the  ankles,  and 
was  fastened  by  straps  over  the  shoulders.  Wigs 
of  various  kinds  were  worn  by  men,  some  as  a 
ceremonial  or  official  head-dress ;  and  it  was  al- 
most an  universal  practice  to  shave  the  head,  ex- 
cept among  soldiers.  Only  kings  and  certain 
dignitaries  wore  beards,  and  these  were  of  a 
"  formal  cut,"  sometimes  artificial. 

The  honourable  position  held  by  women  in 
Egypt  greatly  contrasts  with  their  treatment  in 
most  countries  of  Asia  and  Europe.  The  wife 
appeared  in  public  with  the  husband,  and  had 
much  freedom,  being  entitled  to  hold  property  in 
her  own  right.  Hatasu,  daughter  of  Thothmes  I., 
who  will  be  mentioned  under  the  Theban  kings, 
seems  to  have  shared  the  sovereignty ;  and  Nito- 
cris,  of  a  later  date,  reigned  as  queen  alone. 
Queen  Hatasu  had  more  energy  and  power  of 
will  than  her  husband,  as  their  portraits  show, 
and  left  him  little  authority  in  administration. 
The  temples  at  Karnak  and  Medinet  Abou  show 
her  love  of  architecture.  Continuing  to  reign 
after  the  death  of  Thothmes  II.,  she  assumed  the 
title  of  "  the  living  Horus  (god  of  light),  abound- 
ing in  divine  gifts,  the  mistress  of  diadems,  Queen 
of  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt,  daughter  of  the  Sun, 
consort  of  Amun  (the  chief  god  of  Thebes)." 
Hatasu  is  noted  for  her  ambitious  schemes  of 
foreign  commerce ;  and  even  lived  to  share  some 
of  the  renown  of  Thothmes  III.,  till  he  quarrelled 
with  her,  and  ordered  her  name  to  be  obliterated 
from  the  monuments  which  she  had  constructed 
Large  barges  with  square  sails  are  shown  on  the 
Nile,  as  an  indication  of  the  ancient  commerce : 


ANCIENT   EGYPT.  57 

and,  at  a  later  date,  though  still  previous  to  the 
invasion  of  the  Hyksos  kings,  we  see  some  rather 
bulky  ships  being  built,  or  discharging  their  car- 
goes. 

The  first  six  dynasties  of  the  Memphian  kings 
had  passed  away,  after  leaving  enduring  records 
on  their  monuments  and  tombs  ;  but  the  following 
four  still  remain  in  the  prehistoric  darkness  in 
which  all  were  enshrouded  formerly.  This  gap  of 
436  years  appears  to  have  wrought  much  change 
in  the  Egyptian  religion,  literature,  and  character. 
The  seat  of  government  was  shifted  from  Mem- 
phis to  Hanes,  a  city  seventy  miles  above  Cairo, 
extensive  mounds  of  which  were  supposed  by 
Mariette  to  cover  many  chapters  of  the  lost  book 
of  history.  Some  archaeologists  are  hopeful  that 
large  explorations  may  yet  be  undertaken  there 
in  accordance  with  the  last  wish  of  the  eminent 
French  Egyptologist. 

With  the  first  king  of  the  earlier  Theban  race, 
who  reigned  some  centuries  before  the  date  of 
Abraham,  the  series  of  hieroglyphs  begins  to  re- 
new the  interrupted  history.  The  Theban  kings 
had  grown  from  being  nobles  in  Upper  Egypt  till 
they  became  kings  of  the  whole  Valley  of  the 
Nile.  Under  one  of  them  Lake  Moeris  was  ex- 
cavated, an  enormous  undertaking  requiring  much 
engineering  skill  and  science,  his  object  being  to 
form  a  reservoir  sufficient  for  the  irrigation  of  a 
great  oasis  in  Middle  Egypt.  These  early  The- 
ban or  Nubian  kings  have  left  few  records  com- 
pared with  those  who  ruled  more  than  five  cen- 
turies afterwards,  and  who  formed  the  brilliant 
"  Empire." 

Between  these  two  races  of  Nubian  rulers,  the 
country  became  subject  to  a  dynasty  of  invaders, 


58         EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE  EAST. 

whose  chiefs  were  called  the  Hyksos  or  Shepherd 
kings,  and  ruled  2000-1490  B.C.  The  name  Hyk- 
sos, given  them  on  the  monuments,  was  probably 
one  of  contempt,  and  may  remind  us  that  "  every 
shepherd  was  an  abomination  unto  the  Egyp- 
tians." These  were  mainly  nomadic  tribes,  prob- 
ably of  Hittite  or  Tartar  descent,  who  despised 
the  more  cultured  Egyptians,  sacked  the  wealthy 
towns  and  temples,  and  destroyed  the  monuments 
so  far  as  they  could.  Their  god  Sutech  took  the 
place  of  Ptah,  the  creator-god  of  Memphis.  Su- 
tech represented  physical  evil,  the  opponent  of 
the  Egyptian  Osiris,  the  good.  Zoan  was  the 
capital  of  the  Hyksos  kings,  because  it  guarded 
the  border,  and  was  convenient  for  trading  pur- 
poses, with  a  harbour  to  shelter  the  Phoenician 
galleys,  and  markets  or  warehouses,  so  that  goods 
brought  by  camels  across  the  desert,  or  by  ships 
from  Tarshish,  might  speedily  be  carried  on  to 
Memphis  and  Thebes.  With  Zoan  is  associated 
much  of  the  history  of  the  Hebrew  race,  some 
monuments  there  being  the  work  of  Apepi,  the 
Hyksos  king,  who  has  been  identified  with  the 
Pharaoh  of  Joseph.  Apepi  had  encouraged  the 
Hebrews  and  other  allied  races  to  settle  in  the 
fertile  land  of  Goschen ;  but  not'for  long,  since 
the  Hyksos  kings  were  soon  after  expelled  from 
Egypt,  and  the  subordinate  race  at  Zoan  and 
Avaris  made  slaves. 

King  Ahmes  is  famous  for  having  descended 
from  Thebes,  his  capital,  to  expel  the  Hyksos 
race,  and  restore  the  proper  Egyptian  rule.  He 
not  only  drove  forth  the  Hyksos  into  their  native 
deserts,  but  pursued  them  into  Syria.  This  seems 
to  have  been  a  new  point  of  departure  in  Egyptian 
history,  suggesting  invasion  and  conquest,  am- 


UNIVERSITY 

EGYPT.  59 

bition  and  aggrandizement.  Three  sovereigns  of 
this  conquering  race  left  permanent  memorials  of 
their  power.  Thothmes  I.  invaded  Nubia,  and, 
after  leading  his  armies  to  the  Euphrates,  built 
splendid  monuments  in  Thebes,  his  capital.  The 
second  of  that  name  defeated  the  Arabs ;  and  his 
brother,  Thothmes  III.,  whose  portrait  is  well 
known  from  the  inscriptions,  raised  the  Egyptian 
power  to  be  dominant  over  the  world,  and  thus 
converted  the  double  kingdom  into  an  empire. 
After  the  victory  of  Megiddo,  he  overran  Syria 
and  Mesopotamia,  and  received  great  tribute  from 
Ethiopia,  Assyria,  Phoenicia,  and  other  parts  of 
Asia ;  and  afterwards  endowed  the  chief  temples 
of  his  capital. 

One  monument  implies  that  his  fleets  traded 
as  far  as  the  Black  Sea;  and  certainly  the  Greek 
historian  Herodotus  tells  us  that  the  mines  at 
Colchis  were  worked  by  an  Egyptian  colony.  So 
far  west  as  Algeria  there  are  evidences  that  the 
Theban  Empire  held  rule,  and  that  in  those  dis- 
tant days  the  Mediterranean  had  become  "  an 
Egyptian  lake."  The  son  of  Thothmes  III.,  in- 
vading Assyria,  took  Nineveh,  and  accompanied 
his  victory  with  an  act  which  shows  the  striking 
barbarism  of  those  Oriental  races,  the  more  strik- 
ing that  the  Egyptians  were  in  many  ways  of  a 
gentle  disposition.  He  placed  on  the  walls  of 
Thebes,  his  capital,  the  heads  of  six  kings,  who 
are  said  to  have  been  killed  by  himself,  and  sent 
a  seventh  to  the  remote  capital  of  the  Ethio- 
pians. 

The  following  cartouche  is  from  an  inscription 
on  an  obelisk  at  Philae,  a  small  island  above  the 
capital  Thebes,  Some  of  the  same  characters  as 
in  the  previous  example  occur  again  here. 


60        EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

HIEROGLYPH.  ENGLISH. 


K 

T 

E  o  p  A      A  :;  :: 

L 

R 

i.e.  KLEOPATRA,  the  symbols  being;  in  order — a  knee,  a  lion,  a 
reed,  a  noose,  a  mat,  an  eagle,  a  hand,  a  mouth,  an  eagle,  and 
finally  two  marks  indicating  a  female  proper  name.  The  name  of 
each  object  has  for  its  first  letter  one  of  those  shown  in  the  oblong 
to  the  right  of  the  Hieroglyphs,  e.g., 

"  eagle  "    —Akhoom  and  stands  for  A 
"hand"    =Toot  "  T 

44  mouth  "  =  Ro  "  R 

"reed"     =Aak  "  A 

Zoan  was  rebuilt  by  King  Ramses  II.,  as  the 
inscriptions  yet  tell.  He  was  the  oppressor  of 
the  Hebrew  settlers,  who  "  built  for  Pharaoh 
treasure-cities  [i.e.,  stores  or  granaries],  Pithom 
and  Ramses."  He. also  built  forts  to  strengthen 
the  important  frontier  beside  the  Delta,  and  em- 
ployed the  serf  population  for  his  building  pro- 
jects. Some  serfs  called  Aperiu  in  an  inscription 
were  probably  Hebrews;  and  a  tablet  of  syenite 
recently  found  by  Prof.  Petrie  tells,  as  a  result  of 
a  campaign  of  Meneptah,  that  "  the  people  of 
Israel  are  spoiled  and  have  no  seed."  Meneptah 
was  the  son  of  Ramses  II.,  and  is  now  generally 
identified  with  the  Pharaoh  of  the  "Exodus." 
The  date  of  that  event  was,  therefore,  about  1320 
B.C.  A  wall-painting  at  Thebes  shows  captives 
making  bricks,  who  are  assumed  by  some  writers 
to  be  Jewish  by  their  features,  but  the  date  is 
about  150  years  before  the  oppression  under 
Ramses. 

Though  no  architectural  work  of  the  Hyksos 
period  is  found,  some  very  interesting  sculpture 
in  granite  remains  in  Cairo,  one  group  represent- 
ing two  men — who  are  certainly  not  Egyptians, 


ANCIENT   EGYPT.  6 1 

though  wearing  the  dress — with  large  beards  and 
long  hair.  Another  group,  four  sphinxes  or 
human-headed  lions,  bears  the  name  Apepi,  the 
Pharaoh  who  favoured  Joseph.  The  race  shown 
in  the  Hyksos  sculptures  are  evidently  Semites, 
with  sharp-cut  features,  distinctly  different  from 
the  Egyptian  type. 

The  renown  of  Ramses  II.,  called  the  Great, 
known  as  Sesostris  to  the  Greek  historians,  is 
largely  due  to  the  splendour  of  his  capital, 
Thebes,  and  to  the  fact  that  most  of  his  great 
works  have  survived  more  than  thirty-two  cen- 
turies, and  still  command  unbounded  admiration. 
What  have  Memphis,  Babylon,  Nineveh,  or  even 
imperial  Rome  to  show  by  comparison.  Mem- 
phis, though  dignified  by  the  neighbourhood  of 
the  pyramids,  occupied  a  situation  much  inferior 
to  that  of  Thebes,  which  was  built  in  a  great 
amphitheatre  400  miles  above  Cairo,  with  moun- 
tains in  the  background,  and  in  front  the  Nile 
broadened  by  islands,  with  long  reaches  of  rush- 
ing water.  The  native  name  of  the  capital  was 
Apiu,  or  Tapiu,  "  the  city  of  thrones,"  which  the 
Greeks  afterwards  pronounced  Thebai,  after  their 
own  town  of  that  name.  In  Homer's  time  the 
Egyptian  city  had  long  been  proverbial  for 
wealth,  size,  and  population, — the  London,  so  to 
speak,  of  that  ancient  world. 

'*.  .  .  Thebes 

With  mighty  stores  of  wealth,  a  hundred  gates 
Each  pouring  forth  two  hundred  men  with  cars 
And  horses."  (Iliad,  ix.  381.) 

Two  centuries  after  Homer,  the  Hebrew 
prophet,  denouncing  Nineveh,  demands,  "  Art 
thou  better  than  populous  No  [i.e.  Nu,  or  Nu- 
amun,  "  Ammon,"  the  sacred  name  of  Thebes] 


62        EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF   THE   EAST. 

situate  among  the  rivers,  whose  rampart  was  the 
sea  [the  Nile].  Ethiopia  and  Egypt  were  her 
strength,  and  it  was  infinite." 

The  temple  to  Nu,  or  Amun-ra,  was  the  na- 
tional shrine  of  Thebes,  and  in  its  present  state 
is  one  of  the  grandest  structures  in  the  world. 
No  cathedral  may  compare  with  it  in  massive  size 
or  cost  of  construction,  being  "  among  temples 
what  the  Great  Pyramid  is  among  tombs."  With 
its  surrounding  lesser  temples  it  shows  by  its 
varied  styles  and  its  numberless  inscriptions  and 
drawings  the  history  of  2000  years,  thus  forming 
an  enormous  library  of  Egyptian  records.  The 
hall  of  assembly,  sixty  feet  longer  than  West- 
minster Hall,  would  hold  the  cathedral  of  Notre 
Dame  within  it,  and  is  supported  by  134  col- 
umns; the  gateway  is  over  360  feet  wide,  facing 
the  river.  On  the  opposite  or  western  bank  is 
an  imposing  succession  of  sepulchres  and  tem- 
ples, the  chief  being  the  Rameseum,  in  honour  of 
Ramses  himself,  with  his  granite  statue  lying  in 
broken  masses,  which  weigh  nearly  900  tons. 
This  colossal  figure  is  called  the  "  greatest  mono- 
lithic statue  in  the  world."  Another  temple 
shows  in  sculpture  a  naval  victory  gained  in  the 
Mediterranean  by  the  galleys  of  Ramses  III. 
The  largest  tomb  covers  an  acre  and  a  quarter  of 
rock,  all  covered  with  sculptures.  Not  satisfied 
with  his  monuments  in  Thebes,  Ramses  II.  had 
some  temples  constructed  out  of  a  rock  near  the 
Second  Cataract,  one  with  four  colossal  figures, 
90  feet  high,  seated  in  front  of  a  sculptured  fagade 
of  100  feet.  The  impressive  effect  of  this  mass- 
ive group,  when  first  seen,  is  said  to  rival  that 
produced  by  the  Falls  of  Niagara,  or  by  Mont 
Blanc.  The  inscriptions  cut  on  the  statues  by 


ANCIENT   EGYPT.  63 

successive  generations  of  visitors  from  all  lands 
is  a  striking  proof  of  their  celebrity,  as  well  as 
of  their  age  and  durability.  One  in  Greek  letters 
dates  from  the  seventh  century  B.C. 

The  capital  of  the  Nubian  or  Empire  Kings  of 
ancient  Egypt  was  not  destined  to  remain  perma- 
nently the  foremost  capital  of  the  world.  Who 
may  say  for  how  many  generations  the  capital  of 
the  British  Empire  will  maintain  its  present  posi- 
tion ?  One  thing  is  certain,  that  if  the  day  comes 
when  "  Macaulay's  New  Zealander  "  will  be  sur- 
veying the  ruins  of  St.  Paul's  from  a  broken  arch 
of  London  Bridge,  London  will  then  show  but 
few  traces  of  such  costly  architecture  and  en- 
gineering as  are  still  abundant  among  the  mighty 
monuments  of  the  Egyptian  Thebes.  After  reach- 
ing the  brilliant  splendour  of  Dynasties  XVIII. 
and  XX.,  the  empire  began  to  decline.  The  wars 
of  Ramses  II.  and  others  are  proudly  blazoned 
on  the  temple  walls,  and  described  in  glowing 
colours,  as  all  successful  wars  must,  but  such 
"  spirited  foreign  policy  "  was  ultimately  fatal  to 
Egypt.  The  great  king  had  led  his  armies  to 
Asia  Minor  and  the  distant  Euphrates,  or  even 
Persia,  after  conquering  the  Hittites  and  Syrians. 
He  also  subjected  Ethiopia,  and  established  fleets 
and  trading  stations  on  the  coasts  of  the  Medi- 
terranean and  East  Africa.  In  the  inscriptions 
Ramses  II.  ascribes  to  himself  impossible  prodi- 
gies of  valour  when  fighting  against  the  Hittites. 
"  The  whole  world  made  way  before  the  strength 
of  my  arm;  I  was  alone,  no  one  was  with  me; 
the  warriors  stopped;  they  retreated  on  seeing 
my  deeds ;  their  myriads  have  taken  flight,  and 
their  feet  can  no  more  be  stopped  .  .  .  Very  soon 
[after  being  reinforced  by  the  main  body  of  the 


64        EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE   EAST. 

Egyptian  army]  the  Hittite  army  was  overcome.'1 
The  Hittites,  near  their  capital,  Kadesh,  received 
a  defeat,  but  there  was  no  complete  submission 
such  as  is  boasted  of  in  the  inscription  ;  and  the 
Egyptians  were,  in  fact,  soon  after  driven  out  of 
Palestine  by  those  northern  enemies. 

According  to  the  Greek  historians,  Sesostris 
(/>.,  Ramses  the  Great)  conquered  not  only 
Arabia  but  advanced  to  Thrace  and  the  river 
,  Don,  and  one  of  his  expeditions  is  even  said  to 
have  "  crossed  India  and  the  Ganges."  Tacitus, 
at  a  later  date,  confirms  some  of  these  distant 
marches :  and  his  list  of  countries,  translated 
from  the  inscriptions  by  the  priests  in  Egypt,  in- 
cludes Libya,  Armenia,  Media,  Persia,  and  Scythia. 

Shishak,  the  last  king  of  Egypt  who  deserved 
the  name,  was  of  Semitic  descent,  and  received 
Jeroboam  at  his  court  when  he  was  a  fugitive 
from  Solomon's  capital.  Afterwards,  when  Jero- 
boam was  king  of  the  ten  tribes,  Shishak,  as  his 
ally,  invaded  Judah  with  60,000  horsemen,  1200 
chariots,  and  a  large  army  on  foot,  composed  of 
Lybians,  Ethiopians,  and  Troglodytes,  as  well  as 
Egyptians.  A  bas-relief  at  Karnak  records  how 
Shishak  carried  away  from  Jerusalem  the  treas- 
ures of  the  temple  and  the  king's  palace.  The  ' 
list  which  it  gives  of  Jewish  towns  sacked  by  the 
Egyptians  is  of  interest  in  sacred  geography. 
Shishak,  the  first  Pharaoh  whose  name  is  given 
in  the  Old  Testament,  made  Bubastis,  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  Delta,  his  capital,  as  being 
convenient  for  making  war  upon  King  Solomon, 
his  enemy. 

The  power  of  Egypt  became  weaker  after  the 
time  of  Shishak,  till  the  whole  land  was  split  up 
into  contending  governments,  headed  by  petty 


ANCIENT   EGYPT.  65 

chiefs.  At  last  came  the  Assyrian  invasion  of 
Egypt  (B.C.  666),  as  related  in  the  cuneiform  in- 
scriptions, when  Assur-banipal  treated  the  capital 
Thebes  "as  a  conquered  town,  despoiling  it  of 
gold  and  silver,  precious  stones  and  costly  stuffs, 
horses,  treasure  of  the  palace,  booty  which  could 
not  be  counted,  men  and  women,  works  of  the 
sculptor,  all  of  which  were  carried  to  Nineveh." 
Thebes  suffered  yet  another  blow  in  the  following 
century  from  an  Asiatic  enemy,  when  Cambyses 
entered  it  as  conqueror  of  Egypt,  after  defeating 
King  Amasis  in  the  battle  of  Pelusium,  on  the 
northeast  frontier,  and  taking  Memphis. 

In  the  days  of  Strabo,  the  geographer,  there 
was  no  city  or  even  town  on  the  site  of  Thebes, 
the  great  population,  as  well  as  the  wealth  and 
power,  having  already  long  disappeared.  Then, 
as  now,  the  famous  City  of  Thrones  was  repre- 
sented by  a  few  villages  scattered  among  its 
temples  and  tombs. 

Some  reference  has  already  been  made  to  the 
state  of  letters  and  literature  amongst  the  Egyp- 
tians, both  at  the  time  of  the  earliest  race  and  at 
later  periods.  Of  Egyptian  poetry,  one  of  the 
finest  lyrical  inscriptions  is  that  found  at  Karnak 
by  Mariette.  Amun,  the  god  of  Thebes,  thus 
celebrates  the  conquests  of  Thothmes  III.  in  Asia 
and  Africa : — 

"  I  am  come,  to  thee  have  I  given   to  strike  down  Syrian 

princes, 
Under   thy    feet   they   lie    throughout  the  breadth  of  their 

country  ; 

Like  to  the  Lord  of  Light,  I  made  them  see  thy  glory, 
Blinding  their  eyes  with  light,  the  earthly  image  of  Amun. 

"  I  am  come,  to  thee  have  I  given  to  strike  down  Asian  people, 
Captive  now  thou  hast  led  the  proud  Assyrian  chieftains  ; 

5 


66        EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

Decked  in  royal  robes,  I  made  them  see  thy  glory, 
All  in  glittering  arms,  fighting  high  in  thy  war-car. 

"I  am  come,  to  thee  have  I   given  to  strike   down   island 

races  .  .  . 
I  am  come,  to  thee  have  I  given  to  strike  down  Lybian 

archers. 
All   the  isles   of  the   Greeks   submit   to   the  force   of  thy 

spirit  ;  .  .  . 

**  I  am  come,  to  thee  have  I  given  to  strike  down  the  ends  of 

the  ocean, 

In  the  grasp  of  thy  hand  is  the  circling  zone  of  waters  ; 
Like  the  soaring  eagle,  I  made  them  see  thy  glory, 
Whose  far-reaching  eye  there  is  none  can  hope  to  escape 
from." 

The  Egyptian  code  or  codes  of  law  must 
always  be  an  evidence  of  their  reasoning  power 
and  love  of  order.  Bossuet  said  that  Egypt  was 
"  the  source  of  all  good  government."  Judges 
who  condemned  an  innocent  man  to  death  in- 
curred as  much  guilt  by  law  as  if  they  had  ac- 
quitted a  murderer.  Soldiers,  who  had  deserted 
their  colours  or  disobeyed  an  officer,  were  not 
punished  with  death,  but  with  disgrace  and  dis- 
honour. The  laws  for  protection  of  women  were 
very  severe.  The  interest  on  a  debt  must  not 
accumulate  to  more  than  the  principal,  and  im- 
prisonment for  debt  was  in  no  case  allowed  ;  but 
anyone  who  had  not  paid  his  debts  was  forbid- 
den the  honour  of  being  buried  in  the  family 
tomb. 


HITTITES,   PHOENICIANS,   AND   HEBREWS.       67 

CHAPTER    IV. 

HITTITES,    PHOENICIANS,    AND    HEBREWS. 

§  I.  The  Hittites. — In  recent  years  the  most 
startling  result  connected  with  extinct  civiliza- 
tions is  the  discovery  of  an  empire  which  had 
absolutely  been  forgotten.  Ancient  Egypt  and 
Babylonia  were  unknown  to  us  historically  till 
the  disclosure  of  the  hieroglyphic  and  cuneiform 
inscriptions,  but  the  names  at  least  of  those  two 
empires  always  remained,  with  some  traditional 
echo  of  their  greatness  ;  whereas  of  an  empire 
called  Khita  nobody  had  ever  heard  or  dreamed 
for  over  two  thousand  years.  The  Khita,  or 
"  Hittites,"  were  only  known  formerly  from  some 
meagre  references  in  the  Old  Testament;  and  in 
the  eighth  edition  of  the  Encyclopaedia  Britannica 
they  are  disposed  of  in  a  single  short  paragraph, 
as  being  "one  of  the  tribes  of  the  Canaanites" 
who  u  lived  in  the  mountains  round  Hebron." 
Even  the  great  Dictionary  of  Dr.  Sir  William 
Smith,  in  1878,  finds  material  for  only  a  very  few 
lines  on  the  Hittites;  whereas  in  the  next  edition 
as  many  pages  will  no  doubt  be  found  necessary. 

We  now  know  that  the  Hittites  were  for  cen- 
turies a  warlike  and  conquering  race,  rulers  over 
a  very  large  territory  which  contained  many  dif- 
ferent peoples,  and  not  only  far  more  powerful 
than  the  Hebrews  ever  were,  but  able  to  cope 
with  the  greatest  rulers  both  of  Egypt  and  of 
Babylonia.  Since  1880,  when  Professor  Sayce 
wrote  "  The  Monuments  of  the  Hittites,"  several 
important  works  have  been  written  on  this  sub- 
ject; and  more  information  is  expected  as  soon 


HITTITES,    PHCENICIANS,   AND   HEBREWS.        69 

as  the  Hittite  inscriptions  are  fully  interpreted. 
At  the  height  of  their  power  the  empire  of  the 
Hittites  extended  over  northern  Syria  and  the 
whole  of  Asia  Minor,  with  a  fortified  capital, 
Carchemish,  on  the  Euphrates,  to  guard  the  east- 
ern frontier,  and  its  most  westerly  outposts  on 
the  distant  Egean  Sea.  To  the  north  it  reached 
the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea,  and  in  the  south  it 
had  the  principal  capital,  Kadesh,  and  other  large 
towns  on  the  Orontes,  the  chief  river  of  Syria. 

The  tribe  of  Hittites  in  the  south  of  Palestine 
were  probably  a  colony  from  the  great  confedera- 
tion in  the  north.  Except  in  the  phrase  "the 
kings  of  the  Ilittites,"  the  Old  Testament  ignores 
the- empire  which  ruled  from  Mesopotamia  across 
Syria  to  the  seas  of  the  west.  It  was  from  the 
detached  tribe  living  in  Judah  that  Abram  bought 
the  "  cave  of  Machpelah,"  and  that  Esau  got  his 
two  wives,  Judith  and  Adah;  two  of  David's 
famous  captains,  Uriah  and  Ahimelech,  were  also 
of  this  tribe ;  and  if  Bathsheba,  wife  of  the  for- 
mer and  afterwards  mother  of  Solomon,  was  also 
of  that  race,  then  all  the  lineal  descendants  of  the 
royal  line  of  Judah,  including  our  Lord,  must 
have  had  Hittite  blood  in  their  veins. 

Our  present  knowledge  of  the  empire  of  the 
Hittites  is  mainly  derived  from  the  hieroglyphic 
and  cuneiform  records — compared  with  some 
rock  monuments  of  their  own.  We  take,  there- 
fore, in  order,  first  those  of  the  Nile  Valley  and 
afterwards  the  historical  tablets  and  sculptures  of 
Babylonia  and  Assyria. 

The  Egyptian  monuments  show  that  the  Hit- 
tites, like  the  Akkads  of  early  Babylonia,  were  of 
Mongolian  or  Tartar  race  with  the  oblique  eyes, 
yellow  skin,  and  unattractive  features  which  dis- 


70         EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

tinguish  that  large  division  of  the  human  family. 
One  dynasty  of  the  Hyksos  or  shepherd-kings 
who  ruled  over  Egypt  was  Hittite,  according  to 
Mariette,  and  after  their  final  expulsion  from  the 
Nile  Valley  the  Pharaoh  Thothmes  I.  led  his 
army  not  only  into  Syria,  but  as  far  as  the  bank 
of  the  Euphrates,  which  is  called  the  "  front  of 
the  land  of  the  Hittites."  We  at  the  same  time 
read  of  certain  Canaanitish  tribes  who  then  pos- 
sessed Palestine  long  before  the  Hebrews  existed 
as  a  nation,  and  how  a  treaty  was  made  between 
the  Pharaoh  and  Saplel,  the  Hittite,  who  then 
bore  rule  on  the  banks  of  the  Orontes.  Thoth- 
mes III.  is  the  king  of  whose  reign  we  have  a 
memorial  in  the  famous  obelisk  on  the  Thames 
Embankment  in  London  ;  and  of  him  we  learn 
that  as  "  tribute  from  the  great  King  of  the  Hit- 
tites "  he  received  gold,  black  slaves,  man- and 
maid- servants,  oxen.  On  the  walls  of  Thebes  he 
boasts  of  thirteen  victories  over  the  Hittites,  de- 
scribing the  battles  of  Megiddo,  Carchemish,  &c. 
In  another  inscription  one  of  his  officers  relates 
how  he  "  had  taken  prisoners  near  Aleppo  [a 
Hittite  town]  and  waded  through  the  Euphrates 
when  his  master  was  besieging  the  mighty  Hittite 
fortress  of  Carchemish." 

This  eastern  capital  of  the  Hittites  has  only 
recently  been  found,  though  the  name  Carchemish 
or  Kar-Chemosh  (the  fortress  of  Chemosh)  fre- 
quently occurs  in  ancient  writers.  It  was  strongly 
fortified  to  guard  that  distant  frontier,  and  being 
dedicated  first  to  the  god  Chemosh,  and  after- 
wards to  Astarte  (Ashtaroth),  the  Moon-goddess 
of  the  Hittites,  came  to  be  called  Hierapolis,  the 
Holy  City,  by  the  Greeks,  just  as  they  gave  the 
name  Diospolis  to  Thebes  the  Egyptian  capital. 


HITTITES,    PHOENICIANS,   AND  HEBREWS.        71 

The  word  Hierapolis  was  detected  in  the  modern 
name  "  Jerablus,"  and  thus  at  last  Carchemish  has 
been  identified.  The  name  of  the  other  capital, 
Kadesh,  on  the  Orontes  in  North  Syria,  also  means 
"  Sacred  City." 

The  Egyptian  court  and  ministers  soon  dis- 
covered that  the  victory  over  the  Hittites  was 
anything  but  a  real  one,  and  that  the  King  of 
Kadesh  had  enormous  resources  of  men  and 
money.  One  of  the  Pharaohs  not  only  formed 
an  alliance  with  the  strenuous  northern  race,  but 
married  a  Hittite  princess  who  soon  made  great 
innovations,  especially  in  religion,  and  is  there- 
fore repeatedly  referred  to  in  the  records.  She 
introduced  the  solar  worship  of  the  Hittites  into 
Thebes,  and  her  son  Amenophis  IV.  even  assumed 
the  name  Khun-Aten  "  the  brilliance  of  the  solar 
disk  " — a  title  recalling  that  of  which  Louis  XIV. 
was  so  vain.  This  Hittite  King  of  Thebes  built 
a  capital  on  the  Nile  in  honour  of  the  new  re- 
ligion, and  from  the  explorations  in  its  extensive 
ruins,  Tel  el-Amarna,  we  learn  that  in  the  century 
before  the  Israelitish  exodus  the  Babylonian  lan- 
guage was  used  as  an  international  medium  of  cor- 
respondence. Many  of  the  clay  tablets  contain 
dispatches  sent  to  Khun-Aten  from  his  officers  in 
Babylonia,  Syria,  and  Palestine.  These  official 
letters  show  that  the  dreaded  Hittites  were  then 
a  cause  of  alarm  to  the  governors  and  allies  of 
the  Egyptian  king.  One  dispatch,  preserved  in 
the  Berlin  Museum,  begs  that  assistance  should 
be  at  once  sent  to  Northern  Syria  to  repel  a  Hit- 
tite invasion.  The  sculptures  prove  that  Pharaoh 
Khun-Aten  was  in  face  and  appearance  quite  dif- 
ferent from  the  Egyptian  type,  and  some  of  the 
bas-reliefs  show  that  his  officers  were  probably 


72        EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE   EAST. 

of  Hittite  or  northern  descent  as  well  as  him- 
self. 

The  chief  event  in  the  earlier  history  of  the 
Hittites,  as  learned  from  the  inscriptions,  is  the 
battle  on  the  Orontes,  fought  in  1383  B.C.,  the 
fifth  year  of  Ramses  II.,  the  great  Pharaoh.  So 
momentous  was  the  struggle  in  the  opinion  of  the 
Egyptians  that  a  national  epic  was  composed  by 
Pentaur,  the  poet  laureate,  and  inscribed  on  the 
walls  of  one  of  the  Theban  temples — a  poem 
bearing  a  date  much  more  ancient  than  even  the 
epics  of  Homer,  and  of  the  greatest  value  to  lit- 
erary men  as  well  as  historians.  This  national 
poem,  venerable  from  its  antiquity,  has  been 
found  in  many  of  the  wall  inscriptions,  and  a 
copy  of  it  on  papyrus  is  preserved  in  the  British 
Museum.  As  a  graphic  illustration  of  the  Hit- 
tites and  their  contemporaries  from  the  Egyptian 
standpoint,  and  as  vividly  recalling,  after  being 
buried  over  3000  years, 

" .  .  .  old,  unhappy,  far-off  things 
And  battles  long  ago," 

it  seems  advisable  to  cull  a  few  passages  from 
Dr.  Brugsch's  translation. 

"  The  youthful  king  [Ramses  II.]  with  the  bold  hand  has 
not  his  equal.  .  .  .  Terrible  is  he  when  his  war-cry  resounds. 
Wise  is  his  counsel.  .  .  .  All  his  warriors  passed  by  the  path 
of  the  desert  and  went  on  along  the  roads  of  the  north.  Many 
days  after  the  king  had  arrived  as  far  as  Kadesh  .  .  .  and 
when  the  king  approached  the  city,  behold  there  was  the 
miserable  king  of  the  hostile  Hittites.  He  had  assembled  all 
the  peoples  from  the  uttermost  ends  of  the  sea — their  number 
was  endless,  they  covered  mountains  and  valleys  like  grass- 
hoppers. 

"  The  miserable  Khita-Sira  [King  of  the  Hittites]  and  the 
many  nations  had  hidden  themselves  in  an  ambush  to  the 
north-west  of  the  city  of  Kadesh,  while  Pharaoh  was  alone. 


HITTITES,    PHOENICIANS,   AND   HEBREWS.        73 

The  King  of  the  Hittites  was  in  the  midst  of  his  warriors,  but 
his  hand  was  not  so  bold  as  to  venture  on  battle  with  Pharaoh; 
therefore  he  drew  away  the  horsemen  and  the  chariots,  which 
were  numerous  as  the  sand.  And  they  stood,  three  men  on 
each  war-chariot,  and  there  were  assembled  in  one  spot  the 
best  heroes  of  the  army  of  the  Hittites,  well-appointed  with 
all  weapons  of  the  fight.  They  did  not  dare  to  advance.  And 
Pharaoh  had  placed  himself  to  the  north  of  the  city  of  Kadesh, 
on  the  west  side  of  the  river  Orontes.  .  .  .  [When  he  heard 
that  an  Egyptian  legion  to  the  south  of  the  town  had  been 
driven  away]  he  arose,  he  grasped  his  weapons  and  put  on  his 
war  dress.  Completely  armed  he  looked  like  the  god  of  war 
in  the  hour  of  his  might.  .  .  .  Urging  on  his  chariot,  he  pushed 
into  the  army  of  the  vile  Hittites  alone.  .  .  .  He  was  sur- 
rounded by  2500  chariots,  and  the  swiftest  of  the  warriors  of 
the  vile  Hittites  and  their  numerous  allies.  He  invoked 
Amun,  the  great  god  of  Thebes  : — *  I  prefer  Amun  to  thousands 
of  millions  of  archers,  to  millions  of  horsemen,  to  myriads  of 
young  heroes  all  assembled  together.  The  designs  of  man  are 
nothing  ;  Amun  overrules  all.'  '  I  am  near,'  replies  the  god  ; 
1  my  hand  is  with  thee  ;  I  am  the  lord  of  hosts,  who  loves  cour- 
age ;  I  have  found  thy  heart  resolute,  and  my  heart  has  re- 
joiced ;  the  2500  chariots  shall  be  crushed  before  thy  horses. 
.  .  .  They  shall  be  able  to  shoot  no  more  arrows,  and  shall 
have  no  strength  to  hold  the  spear.  ...  I  will  make  them 
leap  into  the  water  as  crocodiles ;  they  shall  be  thrown  one  on 
another  and  kill  each  other  before  thee.'  .  .  .  Strengthened  by 
the  word  of  the  god,  the  King  rushed  on  the  Hittites,  and 
opened  for  himself  a  blood-stained  passage  over  their  corpses. 
.  .  .  Six  times  he  crossed  the  ranks  of  the  enemy  ;  six  times 
he  struck  down  all  who  opposed  his  passage.  .  .  .  [On  rejoin- 
ing his  guards  he  reproached  the  generals  and  soldiers,  and 
when  the  main  body  of  the  Egyptian  army  arrived  recom- 
menced the  battle.]  The  Hittites  fought  '  to  avenge  their 
bravest  officers,  and  the  Egyptians  to  wipe  away  the  re- 
proach of  cowardice  cast  on  them  by  King  Ramses.'  Seeing 
the  flower  of  his  army  destroyed  the  King  of  the  Hittites  sent 
a  herald  to  say  to  Ramses,  '  son  of  the  sun,  the  Egyptians  and 
che  Hittites  are  slaves  beneath  thy  feet,  .  .  .  we  are  prostrate 
on  the  earth,  ready  to  execute  thy  orders.  O  valiant  king, 
flower  of  warriors,  give  us  the  breath  of  our  lives.  Better  is 
peace  than  war  Give  us  freedom.'  When  Pharaoh  assembled 
all  the  leaders  of  his  army,  his  chariot-fighters,  and  life-guards, 
they  answered,  after  he  had  spoken  : 


74        EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE  EAST. 

"  '  Excellent,  excellent  is  this  !  Let  thy  anger  pass  away, 
O  great  lord  our  king.'  .  .  .  Then  the  Pharaoh  went  in  peace 
to  the  land  of  Egypt,  .  .  .  and  reached  his  capital  [Thebes], 
and  rested  in  his  palace  in  the  most  serene  humour." 

The  value  of  the  epic  to  us  is  in  the  insight  it 
gives  of  the  relations  between  the  Hittite  and 
Egyptian  Empires.  Amongst  the  allies  of  the 
former  had  come  Dardanians  and  Maeonians 
from  the  distant  coasts  of  the  Greek  Egean, 
Eastern  warriors  from  the  Euphrates,  Semitic 
tribes  from  Syria  and  Arabia,  mingled  with  num- 
berless barbaric  peoples  from  the  highlands  of 
Asia  Minor. 

It  seems  possible,  from  their  haste  in  con- 
cluding the  treaty  of  peace  with  the  Hittites,  that 
the  Egyptians  found  those  opponents  stronger 
than  they  had  expected.  Kadesh,  the  capital, 
was  not  taken ;  and  when  a  permanent  treaty 
was  concluded  sixteen  years  later,  "  the  great 
king  of  the  Hittites  "  was  treated  on  equal  terms 
with  Ramses  himself.  "  The  alliance  thus 
formed,"  says  Dr.  Brugsch,  "  laid  the  foundation 
of  the  intimate  friendship,  so  often  mentioned  by 
the  chroniclers  of  the  time,  between  the  two 
great  empires  of  Asia  and  Africa — />.,  between 
Khita,  the  Hittite  Empire,  and  Egypt.  The  lord 
of  the  former,  called  Khitasir,  first  made  the  pro- 
posal, and  sent  to  Ramses  a  plate  of  silver  on 
which  were  inscribed  the  terms  of  an  offensive 
and  defensive  alliance.  The  following  are  some 
extracts  from  this  important  and  most  interesting 
treaty,  as  translated  by  Dr.  Brugsch  : — 

"  In  the  year  twenty-one,  in  the  reign  of  King  Ramses, 
there  took  place  a  public  sitting  ;  .  .  .  then  came  forward  the 
ambassador  of  the  king  and  the  Adon  of  the  great  King  of 
the  Hittites."  .  .  .  This  is  the  copy  of  the  contents  of  the 
silver  tablet  which  the  great  King  of  the  Hittites  had  caused 


HITTITES,    PHOENICIANS,    AND   HEBREWS.        75 

to  be  made — a  good  treaty  for  friendship  and  concord,  which 
assured  peace  for  a  longer  period  than  was  previously  the 
case — the  agreement  of  the  great  Prince  of  the  Egyptians  in 
common  with  the  great  King  of  the  Hittites,  for  the  people 
of  Egypt  and  for  the  people  of  Khita  that  there  should  be  no 
more  enmity  between  them  for  evermore.  Khitasir,  the 
great  King  of  Khita,  is  in  covenant  with  Ramses,  the  great 
Prince  of  Egypt. 

"  He  shall  be  my  ally,  he  shall  be  my  friend.  I  will  be 
his  ally,  I  will  be  his  friend  for  ever.  The  sons  of  the  sons  of 
of  the  great  King  of  the  Hittites  will  hold  together  and  be 
friends  with  the  sons  of  the  sons  of  the  great  Prince  of 
Egypt." 

To  this  remarkable  instrument,  one  of  the 
most  curious  documents  which  have  survived  the 
lapse  of  ages,  are  duly  appended  >the  names  and 
titles  of  certain  gods  and  goddesses  as  witnesses 
of  the  treaty. 

It  abundantly  proves  that  then  Khita,  the 
land  of  the  Hittites,  was  equal  in  rank  and  power 
to  Egypt  itself.  The  Hittites  held  the  sov- 
ereignty of  Western  Asia,  and  had  compelled 
Ramses,  the  king  of  mighty  Thebes  to  accept 
peace  on  equal  terms — the  great  "  Sesostris," 
known  to  the  Greeks  afterward  by  tradition,  the 
last  of  the  really  great  Pharaohs.  The  friend- 
ship between  the  two  states  led  to  an  important 
marriage,  recorded  in  the  hieroglyphs  at  Ipsam- 
boul,  in  the  thirty-fourth  year  of  the  reign  of 
Ramses.  He  then  married  the  daughter  of  the 
Hittite  king — a  grand  state  function,  when  the 
lord  of  Khita  himself  attended  in  national  cos- 
tume. The  bride,  who  now  received  an  Egyptian 
name,  is,  in  the  inscription,  celebrated  for  her 
.beauty,  but  there  is  no  indication  of  her  having 
possessed  the  force  of  character  shown  by  the 
Hittite  princess  who  became  mother  of  the  Pha- 
raoh Khun-Aten.  The  son  of  the  great  Ram- 


76         EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF   THE   EAST. 

ses,  Meneptah,  the  "Pharaoh  of  the  Exodus," 
was  also  on  friendly  terms  with  the  great  Syrian 
power,  since  there  is  a  record  of  his  sending  corn 
to  the  Hittites  during  a  famine. 

At  a  later  period  we  find  that  the  Canaanites 
had  suffered  disaster  both  from  the  Hittites  from 
the  north  and  from  Ramses  II.  on  the  south,  and 
this,  according  to  Professor  Sayce,  explains  why 
they  "offered  so  slight  a  resistance  to  the  invad- 
ing Israelites."  The  Exodus  was  shortly  after 
the  death  of  Ramses  II.,  and  "  when  Joshua  en- 
tered Palestine  he  found  there  a  disunited  people 
and  a  country  exhausted  by  the  long  and  terrible 
wars  of  the  preceding  century.  The  way  had 
been  prepared  by  the  Hittites  for  the  Israelitish 
conquest  of  Canaan." 

Taking  now  a  different  page  of  the  world's 
history,  if  we  turn  from  the  Egyptian  inscriptions 
to  the  cuneiform  records  of  the  Euphrato-Tigris 
Valley,  we  have  evidence  that  even  under  Sargon 
I.  the  Hittites  were  formidable  enemies — />.,  not 
later  than  the  twentieth  century  B.C.  Other 
Assyriologists  place  that  reign  some  centuries 
earlier.  Probably  the  Hittites  were  originally 
neighbours  as  well  as  kindred  of  the  Akkad  race} 
before  the  latter  descended  upon  the  fertile  plain 
between  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris,  and  there  de- 
veloped the  civilization  which,  for  so  long  a 
period  afterwards,  kept  them  superior  to  the  Assyr- 
ians and  all  other  Semitic  races.  There  are  also 
important  notices  of  the  Hittites  during  the 
twelfth  century  B.C.,  under  the  powerful  King 
Tiglath-pileser  (see  Chap.  II.).  He  led  the 
Assyrian  army  into  mountainous  Armenia,  and 
harried  much  of  the  Hittite  country,  though  the 
fortress  of  Carchemish  on  the  Euphrates  was  too 


HITTITES,    PHOENICIANS.   AND    HEBREWS.        77 

strong  to  be  taken.  He  did  not  even  attack  it, 
and  therefore  never  reached  Palestine,  or  Phoeni- 
cia, the  "  Back-Country "  behind  the  Mount 
Lebanon.  In  the  ninth  century,  however,  Assur- 
nasrpal  of  Assyria  took  the  eastern  Hittite  capi- 
tal, and  passed  the  Euphrates,  after  being 
bribed  by  the  rich  citizens  of  the  right  bank  to 
spare  the  wealthy  town.  Rich  and  luxurious  by 
their  commerce,  the  Hittites  on  this  frontier  had 
become  unwarlike,  and  bought  peace  with  the 
Assyrian  conqueror  by  such  presents  as  "  golden 
cups,  golden  chains,  golden  knives,  100  talents  of 
copper,  250  talents  of  iron,  copper  images  of 
wild  bulls,  copper  bowls,  copper  libation  cups, 
.  .  .  couches  and  thrones  of  rare  wood  and  ivory, 
200  slave  girls,  variegated  cloth  and  linen  gar- 
ments, masses  of  black  crystal  and  blue  crystal, 
precious  stones,  elephants'  tusks,  a  white  chariot, 
.  .  ."  war-chariots,  war-horses,  and  other  accre- 
tions of  imperial  dignity. 

Near  Aleppo,  Assur-nasrpal  took  Azaz,  a 
smaller  Hittite  capital,  and  again  received  large 
bribes.  His  son,  Shalmanezer  (860-825  B.C.), 
was  similarly  tempted  to  invade  the  lands  of  the 
Hittite  princes  for  the  sake  of  spoil,  and  soon 
formed  the  design  of  becoming  master  of  the 
high  road  between  Phoenicia  and  Assyria.  Alli- 
ances were  repeatedly  formed  against  the  warlike 
Assyrians;  but  in  vain.  Ahab,  the  King  of 
Israel,  contributed  2000  chariots  and  10,000  sol- 
diers to  a  large  army  of  northern  as  well  as  Syro- 
Arabic  allies,  who  fought  at  the  battle  of  Karkar, 
and  helped  to  make  the  "  Orontes  run  red  with 
blood."  This  conquest  by  Shalmanezer  was  the 
death  stroke  to  the  Hittite  supremacy,  because 
now  the  Semites  of  Phoenicia  and  Palestine 


78        EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF   THE   EAST. 

became  more  united  to  the  Semitic  Assyrians, 
and  the  Hittites  were  now  mostly  tributary  to  the 
new  empire  of  the  Euphrato-Tigris  Valley.  The 
Assyrian  inscriptions  began  to  use  "  Hittite  "  as 
meaning  Syrian.  Carchemish,  on  the  Euphrates, 
still,  however,  remained  a  Hittite  capital  till  the 
following  century,  when  Sargon  II.  took  it  by 
storm,  and  its  last  king,  Pisiris,  was  made  captive 
by  the  Assyrians,  717  B.C.  The  Semites  of  As- 
syria, or  Babylonia,  were  now  masters  of  all  the 
west  of  Asia,  and  the  Khita  Empire  had  come  to 
a  close. 

The  Hittites,  like  their  kinsmen  the  Akkads, 
had,  from  some  unknown  period,  invented  an 
alphabet  or  syllabary  of  writing  words.  The 
Hittite  letters,  however,  are  hieroglyphics,  and  so 
entirely  different  from  the  Egyptian  or  Chinese 
characters,  that  scholars  are  unable  as  yet  to 
decypher  them.  Specimens  of  this  unknown  lan- 
guage have  been  found  at  Carchemish,  the  east- 
ern capital,  as  well  as  at  Hamath  and  Aleppo  on 
the  Orontes,  and  Lykaonia  in  Asia  Minor.  In 
various  places  occur  sculptures  of  figures  which 
differ  in  features  and  dress  from  all  those  repre- 
senting the  ancient  Babylonians,  the  Egyptians, 
or  the  Semites,  &c. 

So  far  as  those  records  go,  the  Hittites  wore 
a  short-skirted  tunic,  and  strange  boots  with  up- 
turned toes.  The  latter  has  been  explained  as  a 
survival  of  some  form  of  "  snow-shoe,"  because 
the  original  race  had  for  generations  lived  among 
the  snow-clad  mountains  to  the  north  of  Syria, 
and  north-western  uplands  of  the  Iran  plateau. 
Many  of  the  figures  are  sculptured  with  fingerless 
gloves,  which  is  considered  another  proof  that 
the  earliest  home  of  the  Hittites  was  a  cold 


HITTITES,    PHCENICIANS,   AND   HEBREWS.        79 

northern  region.  They  were  beardless,  like  most 
of  the  other  men  of  the  yellow  race,  and  to  mod- 
erns appear  rather  ugly,  as  they  did  to  the  ancient 
Egyptians.  Students  of  heraldry  may  wonder  at 
the  statement  that  the  two-headed  eagle  of  Ger- 
many, Russia,  and  Austria  has  been  derived  from 
the  extinct  art  and  symbolism  of  the  Hittites. 
Certain  it  is  that  the  figure  occurs  prominently  in 
the  Hittite  monuments;  and  after  being"  adopted 
in  later  days  by  the  Turkoman  princes,"  was 
brought  to  Europe  by  the  Crusaders,  and  thus 
"  became  the  emblem  of  the  German  Emperors, 
who  have  passed  it  on  to  the  modern  kingdoms 
of  Russia  and  Austria/' 

At  Eyuk,  in  Asia  Minor,  near  the  River  Halys, 
which  flows  north  to  the  Black  Sea,  can  still  be 
traced  the  walls  of  a  large  Hittite  palace,  with 
huge  squared  blocks  of  stone,  and  an  approach 
guarded  by  lions,  the  main  entrance  flanked  by 
two  vast  granite  masses,  bearing  sphinxes  carved 
in  relief.  Many  details  of  the  architecture  suggest 
an  imitation  of  Egyptian  art,  while  the  site  is,  like 
that  of  the  Babylonian  palaces,  raised  on  an  arti- 
ficial platform  of  earth.  It  is  suggested  that  this 
must  have  been  a  summer-palace,  to  which  the 
kings  of  Kadesh  resorted  when  "  the  burning  sun 
of  Syria  "  made  the  Orontes  valley  too  warm  for 
them. 

The  Hittites  appeal  to  us  "  on  account  of  the 
debt  which  the  civilization  of  Europe  owes  to 
them,"  since  u  the  first  beginnings  of  Greek  cul- 
ture were  derived  from  the  Hittite  conquerors  of 
Asia  Minor."  Obtaining  their  civilization  from 
an  Eastern  source,  as  Bactria  or  some  other  un- 
known centre,  they  transmitted  it  westwards  to 
the  distant  shores  of  the  Egean.  Thence  the 


8o        EXTINCT  CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE  EAST. 

early  Greeks  conveyed  it  to  the  European  conti- 
nent. Ionia  was  the  origin  of  the  Greek  culture, 
and  in  many  other  parts  of  Asia  Minor  there  are 
traces  of  refinement  and  civilization,  long  extinct, 
which  the  Hittites  probably  began.  Some  of  the 
greatest  men  of  the  earlier  Greeks  were  born  in 
Asia  Minor,  such  as  Homer,  Thales,  Pythagoras, 
and  Herodotus,  and  whoever  thinks  of  these  in 
connection  with  the  towns  on  the  Egean  may  cast 
his  thoughts  still  further  back  to  the  Hittite  or 
Khita  civilization.  A  famous  line  in  the  Odyssey, 
which  had  from  age  to  age  puzzled  the  readers  of 
Homer,  is  now  conjectured  by  Mr.  Gladstone  to 
refer  to  those  singular  Khita  or  Keta. — 

" .  .  .  his  comrades,  the  Keteians, 
Around  him  fell  in  numbers," — 

says  the  poet ;  and  certainly  the  name  or  race,  so 
long  a  trouble  to  ethnologists  and  geographers, 
may  very  well  be  merely  a  variant  of  Kheta  or 
Hittites. 

§  II.  The  Phoenicians. — In  many  points  the 
Phoenicians  contrast  strongly  with  their  neigh- 
bours the  Hittites;  and,  though  their  history  has 
much  less  of  the  romantic  interest,  due  to  being 
so  recently  and  unexpectedly  brought  to  light — 
deterres,  as  Pope  said  of  Samuel  Johnson,  the 
unknown  Grub  Street  writer — yet  from  being 
more  in  touch  with  some  of  our  modern  ideas,  and 
from  the  constant  allusions  to  them  in  classical 
writers,  the  extinct  civilization  of  Tyre  and  Sidon 
is  almost  as  attractive  to  the  student  of  history 
as  that  of  the  "  Forgotten  Empire."  Napoleon 
nicknamed  the  British  race  la  nation  boutiqutirc, 
"  shopkeepers,"  and  a  French  historian  informs 
us  that  he  copied  the  phrase  from  Louis  XIV., 


HITTITES,    PHOENICIANS,    AND   HEBREWS.        8l 

who  applied  it  disdainfully  to  the  Dutch ;  but  in 
any  case,  both  the  modern  races  may  be  proud  to 
be  bracketed  with  the  ancient  Phoenicians,  owing 
their  wealth  and  importance  to  trade  and  com- 
merce, and  having  acquired  a  bias  thereto  from 
the  natural  environment.  What  was  the  site  of 
Phoenicia?  Merely  a  narrow  strip  of  sea-coast 
on  the  west  of  Syria,  less  than  200  miles  in  length 
northwards  from  the  Bay  of  Acre,  and  only  12  in 
breadth.  The  strip  was  narrow,  being  hemmed 
in  between  the  Lebanon  mountains  and  the 
Mediterranean,  but  the  soil  was  very  fertile,  ow- 
ing to  the  many  streams  which  watered  it.  This 
belt  of  country  is  of  great  beauty,  some  travellers 
preferring  its  scenery  and  situation  to  those  of 
the  far-famed  Riviera,  between  France  and  Italy. 
To  the  east  parallel  to  the  coast  runs  the  lofty 
range  of  Lebanon,  "  the  glory  of  Phoenicia/' 
which,  being  steepest  on  the  side  which  faces  the 
Assyrians,  formed  a  magnificent  wall  of  defence. 
The  western  slopes,  with  well-watered  forests, 
supplied  timber  abundantly  for  the  navy  and  for 
building  purposes.  "We  will  cut  wood  out  of 
Lebanon  (wrote  the  King  of  Tyre  to  the  King  of 
the  Jews),  and  bring  it  to  thee  in  floats  by  sea  to 
Joppa,  and  thou  shalt  carry  it  up  to  Jerusalem." 
More  important,  however,  for  the  national  growth 
of  this  small  maritime  state  was  its  excellent  sup- 
ply of  natural  harbours.  These  were  a  constant 
stimulus  to  boat-building,  sea-faring,  and  foreign 
trading. 

Herodotus,  in  the  fifth  century  B  c.,  sailed  to 
Tyre  to  visit  the  famous  temple  of  Hercules 
(called  Melcarth  by  the  Phoenicians),  and  was 
told  it  had  existed  2300  years;  the  foundation  of 
Tyre  has  therefore  been  assigned  to  2750  B.C., 
6 


82        EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE   EAST. 

when  the  Memphian  Pharaohs  ruled  Egypt,  and 
more  than  fourteen  centuries  prior  to  the  Hebrew 
exodus  under  Moses.  Sidon  claimed  to  be  older 
than  Tyre,  and  in  the  Bible  and  Homer  the  Phoe- 
nicians are  called  Sidonians  rather  than  Tyrians, 
as  if  Sidon  were  the  first  capital;  but  during  the 
history  of  the  country,  as  now  known,  Tyre  was 
undoubtedly  the  head.  In  the  fifteenth  century 
B.C.,  accordingly,  there  were  already  busy  ports 
at  Sidon,  Tyre,  Byblos,  Beiroot,  and  Acre,  though 
under  different  and  less  famous  names.  Except- 
ing that  of  Beiroot,  these  harbours  have  long  been 
rendered  useless  by  silting. 

This  busy  people  called  themselves  Kend,  and 
no  doubt  belonged  to  the  Canaanitish  tribes,  who 
gave  both  the  Egyptians  and  the  Hittites  so  much 
trouble  till  they  were  cleared  out  of  Palestine,  and 
their  country  afterwards  taken  by  Joshua  and  the 
Hebrews.  The  name  we  use,  Phoenicians,  was 
given  them  by  the  Greeks  on  account  of  their 
dark-red  complexion — the  wor&phoinos  or  fihoenus 
being  "blood-red."  Others  say  the  Greeks  ap- 
plied that  name  from  the  colour  of  the  famous 
purple  dyes  which  were  a  staple  of  their  com- 
merce. In  the  cuneiform  inscriptions  of  Assyria, 
Phoenicia  is  called  Akharru,  the  "  Back-land," 
i.e.,  the  land  behind  the  Hittites  and  west  of  the 
range  of  Lebanon.  The  Phoenician  language  was 
almost  the  same  as  the  Hebrew,  as  has  already 
been  shown  in  describing  the  Moabitish  stone 
(p.  22),  but  in  race  the  two  nations  differed  more, 
though  both  were  undoubtedly  derived  from  that 
division  of  the  White  Men  which  is  called  Semitic, 
or  Syro-Arabic. 

The  native  annals  of  the  Phoenicians  being 
lost,  we  have  to  glean  notices  of  their  early  his- 


HITTITES,    PHOENICIANS,    AND   HEBREWS.       83 

tory  from  other  nations,  as  has  been  done  in  the 
case  of  the  Hittites.  In  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury B.C.,  Thothmes  III.  placed  Egyptian  govern- 
ors at  various  points  to  collect  tribute  from  Phoe- 
nicia, just  as  was  done  in  Syria  and  Palestine. 
In  the  fourteenth  century  B.C.,  Phoenicia  became 
more  independent  owing  to  the  increased  power 
of  the  Hittite  empire,  and  the  weakening  of 
Egypt's  foreign  rule.  Then  began  the  growth 
and  rapid  development  of  the  Phoenician  trade 
and  commerce ;  which  placed  her  in  the  forefront 
of  ancient  states.  The  capital,  Sidon,  was  noted 
for  the  manufacture  of  glass,  and  Tyre  for  its 
purple,  but  other  towns  joined  in  those  indus- 
tries, and  also  in  cloth-weaving  and  embroideries. 
These  arts  were  no  doubt  originally  borrowed 
from  Egypt  and  Babylonia,  though  as  merchants 
and  carriers  they  obtained  full  credit  amongst  the 
ancient  writers  as  being  the  inventors  of  the  wares 
in  which  they  traded.  Pliny's  apocryphal  story 
of  glass  being  accidentally  made  on  this  coast  by 
boiling  a  pot  on  the  sandy  shore  and  propping  it 
with  some  lumps  of  natron  is  absurd,  yet  some 
writers  still  call  the  Phoenicians  the  inventors  of 
glass-making.  The  "  Tyrian  dyes,"  proverbial  in 
every  language,  were  got  from  the  murex,  a  shell 
fish  still  abounding  on  the  coast;  and  excellent 
sand  is  still  found  near  Sidon  and  in  the  Bay  of 
Acre.  The  Phoenicians  excelled  in  bronze-work, 
ivory-carving,  and  gem-engraving.  Two  bronze 
gates  brought  from  Tyre  to  the  British  Museum 
are  covered  with  groups  of  figures  representing 
the  bustle  and  various  occupations  of  a  commer- 
cial port.  Homer,  when  mentioning  gold  or  silver 
cups  or  bowls,  or  prize  vases,  &c.,  generally  calls 
them  Sidonian ;  and  in  his  letter  to  Solomon  we 


84        EXTINCT  CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

find  the  King  of  Tyre  promising  to  send  "  a  cun- 
ning man,  skilful  to  work  in  gold  and  in  silver,  in 
brass,  in  iron,  in  stone,  and  in  timber,  in  purple, 
in  blue,  and  in  fine  linen  and  in  crimson ;  also  to 
grave  any  manner  of  graving,  and  to  find  out 
every  device  that  shall  be  put  to  him,  with  thy 
cunning  men."  Of  the  artistic  productions  of 
the  Phoenicians  few  traces  exist.  Their  sculp- 
ture and  architectural  remains  show  no  great  re- 
finement. According  to  several  writers  the  Phoe- 
nician temples,  on  which  such  enormous  expense 
was  lavished,  were  closely  similar  to  the  Hebrew 
temple.  "  In  the  domain  of  art,"  says  Professor 
Socin,  "originality  was  as  little  a  characteristic  of 
the  Phoenicians  as  of  the  Hebrews,"  and  it  was 
not  till  the  country  became  subject  to  Persia  that 
art  came  to  be  appreciated  or  systematically 
studied. 

The  neighbourly  interchange  of  civilities  be- 
tween the  Phoenician  King  Hiram  and  the  two 
chief  Jewish  kings  is  one  of  the  most  interesting 
references  to  our  subject  which  the  Old  Testa- 
ment contains.  King  Hiram's  friendship  with 
David  was  confirmed  by  commerce  and  inter- 
marriages; and  his  construction  of  splendid  tem- 
ples to  Melcarth  and  Astarte  probably  suggested 
to  David  and  Solomon  the  building  of  a  palace 
and  temple  in  Jerusalem  which  should  be  worthy 
of  the  new  dignity  of  the  Hebrew  nation.  After 
assisting  King. David  to  build  his  palace,  Hiram 
supplied  Solomon  with  cedar,  fir,  and  stones  for 
his  great  temple,  besides  sending  skilled  workmen 
to  carry  out  many  designs  which  the  Hebrew 
artizans  were  unqualified  for.  He  also  lent  him 
120  talents  of  gold  for  the  interior  decorations. 
To  compensate  this  favour  Solomon  agreed  to 


HITTITES,    PHOENICIANS,   AND   HEBREWS.       85 

make  annual  payments  of  oil  and  wine,  and  after- 
wards gave  him  some  territory  in  Galilee.  Sev- 
eral details  of  the  temple  in  Jerusalem  corre- 
sponded exactly  to  those  of  Phoenicia,  e.g.,  the 
two  pillars  at  the  entrance  called  Jachin  and 
Boaz.  Hiram  supplied  also  sailors  and  pilots  to 
assist  Solomon  in  certain  commercial  plans,  such 
as  exploiting  the  gold  mines  of  u  Ophir,"  which 
was  probably  on  the  west  coast  of  India,  a  place 
already  visited  by  the  Phoenicians.  The  Phoeni- 
cians, besides  trading  on  their  own  manufactures, 
were  from  the  beginning  international  shippers 
and  carriers;  a  large  proportion  of  their  freights 
consisted  of  Egyptian  and  Babylonian  wares 
which  were  to  be  sold  by  barter  on  the  Mediter- 
ranean coasts.  Their  settlement  on  the  Island  of 
Cyprus  was  mainly  for  working  the  copper  mines 
(for  which  that  island  was  famous,  as  the  name 
of  the  metal  proves)  and  procuring  timber.  On 
the  Grecian  coasts,  according  to  Homer,  they 
trafficked  in  slaves  and  sold  trinkets,  and  on 
some  of  the  Grecian  islands  they  had  mining  sta- 
tions and  dye  works.  Phoenician  idols  have  re- 
cently been  exhumed  at  Mycenae — "  objects  of 
amber  and  an  ostrich  egg  side  by  side  with  rich 
jewels  of  gold  Oriental  decoration  "  and  images 
of  Asiatic  plants  and  animals.  On  the  Isthmus 
of  Corinth,  a  prehistoric  centre  of  commercial  ac- 
tivity, the  national  god  of  Tyre  was  worshipped 
under  the  Phoenician  name. 

A  well-known  incident  in  the  Odyssey  vividly 
reproduces  those  far-off  times  when  the  Phoe- 
nicians were  known  as  crafty  traders  and  kid- 
nappers on  the  Egean  and  Grecian  coasts. 
Ulysses  asks  Eumaeus,  "  the  goodly  swineherd, 
a  master  of  men,"  how  he  happened  to  have 


86        EXTINCT  CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE   EAST. 

wandered  so  far  from  his  country.  Eumaeus, 
after  describing  his  'native  isle,  over  which  his 
father  was  king,  tells  how  there  came  there  some 
"  Phoenicians — famous  sailors,  but  sharp  fellows 
in  bargaining,  who  brought  in  their  black  ship 
countless  trinkets,"  and  how,  as  there  was  in  his 
father's  house  a  "  Phoenician  woman,  handsome 
and  tall,  skilled  in  the  finest  handiwork,"  one 
of  the  visitors  made  love  to  her.  She  told  the 
Phoenician  she  had  come  from  "  Sidon,  rich  in 
bronze,"  where  her  parents  were  wealthy,  and  how 
she  had  been  seized  when  returning  from  the  field 
by  some  Taphian  pirates,  brought  to  the  island  and 
sold  to  her  master  for  a  goodly  price.  "  Wouldst 
thou  return  home  with  us,"  asked  the  Phoenician, 
"  to  see  again  the  lofty  house  of  thy  father 
and  mother,  and  look  on  their  faces?"  She 
eagerly  assented,  promising  to  bring  on  board, 
not  only  whatever  gold  she  could  find,  but  the 
little  son  of  her  master.  "  Him  would  I  lead  on 
board  ship  to  fetch  you  a  countless  price  from 
whatever  men  of  foreign  lands  you  might  sell 
him  to."  At  last,  after  the  ship  was  fully 
freighted  for  departure,  one  of  the  cunning 
Phoenicians  brought  to  the  house  "  a  golden 
chain  strung  here  and  there  with  amber  beads  ;  " 
and,  "  as  my  lady  mother,"  continues  Eumaeus, 
"  and  her  maidens  were  handling  the  chain  and 
admiring  it,  the  sailor  gave  the  signal  to  the 
woman.  She  led  me  forth  from  the  house,  .  .  . 
hid  three  goblets  in  her  bosom,  and  1  followed, 
in  my  innocence,  to  the  haven,  where  was  the 
swift  ship  of  the  Phoenicians.  For  six  days  we 
sailed,  but  when  Zeus  added  the  seventh,  then 
Artemis,  the  huntress,  smote  the  woman  that  she 
fell  as  a  sea-swallow  falls,  with  a  plunge  into  the 


HITTITES,    PHOENICIANS,    AND   HEBREWS.       87 

hold.  .  .  .  Wind  and  water  brought  them  to  Itha- 
ca, where  Laertes  bought  me  with  his  wealth. 
Thus  it  was,"  concluded  the  swineherd,  "  that  I 
came  to  look  upon  this  land." 

The  Greeks  first  learned  the  use  of  an  alphabet 
from  the  commercial  Phoenicians,  and  therefore 
called  them  the  inventors  of  letters,  just  as  they 
gave  them  credit  for  having  first  made  glass  and 
dyed  cloth  purple.  That  is  now  completely  dis- 
proved, as  has  been  seen  in  Chapter  III.  Not 
only  the  Egyptian  hieroglyphs,  but  the  cuneiform 
alphabet  of  the  Akkads  and  Babylonians,  and  the 
strange  alphabet  used  by  the  Hittites  in  their 
inscriptions,  were  all  of  far  older  date  than  the 
trade  and  civilization  of  Phoenicians,  who  were 
certainly  clever  enough  to  learn  one  or  more  of 
these  modes  of  writing.  It  is  likely,  from  their 
commercial  habits  and  business-like  desire  to 
save  time,  that  they  simplified  that  form  of 
alphabet  which  they  had  adopted ;  but  if  so, 
that  is  all  for  which  the  modern  world  of  letters 
may  thank  the  ancient  nation  boutiquiere. 

Centuries  after  the  Phoenicians,  the  Greeks 
were  the  chief  sea-faring  race  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean, but  for  a  long  time  they  merely  imitated 
the  skilled  mariners  of  Tyre  and  Sidon.  They 
themselves  say  that  their  ships  were  inferior  in 
speed  ;  and  when  they  had  to  use  the  Polar  Star 
in  longer  voyages,  their  name  for  it  was  the 
"  Phoenician  star,"  a  single  fact  which  proves  the 
source  of  their  navigation.  Xenophon  acutely 
remarks  upon  the  admirable  order  and  arrange- 
ment, with  every  economy  of  space,  observed  on 
board  the  Phoenician  ships.  The  Assyrian  sculp- 
tures of  Sargon  and  Sennacherib  show  the  galleys 
with  a  double  tier  of  rowers. 


88        EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

It  was,  perhaps,  of  her  colonies  that  Phoenicia 
had  most  reason  to  be  proud,  excelling  Greece, 
her  successor,  and  almost  rivalling  in  enter- 
prise the  modern  British  race,  who  live  in  more 
favourable  circumstances,  and  with  greater  re- 
sources at  command.  It  was  mainly  towards  the 
western  parts  of  the  Mediterranean  and  outside 
the  Straits  of  Gibraltar  that  this  commercial 
energy  was  shown.  The  famous  trade  with  Tar- 
shish  or  Tartessus,  on  the  Guadalquivir  (where 
they  founded  Cadiz  and  Seville),  often  referred  to 
in  Jewish  history,  was  of  the  first  importance,  not 
only  from  the  valuable  fisheries,  but  for  the  quan- 
tities of  silver  and  other  ores  procured  there.  So 
cheaply  did  the  simple  natives  supply  the  Phoe- 
nicians, there  being  no  other  buyers,  that  the 
profits  were  immense;  and  the  historian  Diodorus 
tells  us,  for  example,  that  some  ships  on  their 
return  from  that  far  western  land  had  their  anchors 
made  of  solid  silver.  The  Phoenician  voyages  for 
tin  are  known  to  every  reader  of  English  his- 
tory, and  how  they  first  introduced  the  southern 
parts  of  England  to  the  civilized  world.  Besides 
Cornwall,  however,  and  the  Scilly  Islands,  their 
merchants  found  tin  in  north-west  Spain.  The 
Scilly  group  they  named  Tin  Islands,  and  seem 
to  have  followed  a  route  across  France,  in  order 
to  tranship  the  valuable  ore  at  Marseilles,  already 
a  busy  port. 

The  Phoenician  commerce  with  Spain  and  the 
West  led  to  many  colonies  ; — Tarshish,  founded 
soon  after  the  Trojan  War,  according  to  Strabo  ; 
Gades  and  Utica,  about  uoo  B.C.  ;  Carthage,  814 
B.C.  The  last  two  were  on  the  coast  of  Africa, 
where  also  the  Phoenicians  had  numberless  smaller 
settlements.  There  were  many  others  on  the 


HITTITES,    PHCENICIANS,   AND   HEBREWS.       89 

coasts  of  Spain,  Sicily,  &c.  From  such  a  number 
of  colonies  the  mother  state  derived  its  chief 
wealth  and  power,  since  all  had  to  pay  tithes  to 
Melcarth,  the  god  of  Tyre.  Even  up  to  the  sixth 
century  B.C.  we  find  Carthage  herself  sending  the 
colonial  tribute  to  Tyre,  with  envoys  to  assist  in 
the  ceremonial  feast  of  the  national  god. 

A  brilliant  picture  of  the  trade  and  wealth  of 
this  state  is  given  by  the  prophet  Ezekiel  in  his 
"  dirge  of  Tyre,"  when  he  compares  the  city  to 
a  fair  vessel  launching  forth  in  majesty  to  be 
finally  wrecked  and  brought  to  nothing. 

"  O  Tyre,  situate  at  the  entry  of  the  sea,  a  merchant  of  the 
people  for  many  isles,  thou  hast  said  I  am  of  perfect  beauty. 
Thy  borders  are  in  the  midst  of  the  seas,  thy  builders  have 
perfected  thy  beauty.  They  have  made  all  thy  boards  of  fir- 
trees  of  Hermon,  they  have  taken  cedars  from  Lebanon  to 
make  masts  for  thee.  Of  the  oaks  of  Bashan  have  they  made 
thine  oars,  thy  benches  made  they  of  ivory,  .  .  .  thy  sails  of 
fine  linen  with  broidered  work  from  Egypt  ;  blue  and  purple 
from  the  isles.  .  .  .  All  the  ships  of  the  sea  with  their  mari- 
ners were  in  thee  to  occupy  thy  merchandise.  They  of  Persia 
and  of  Lud  [Lydia]  and  of  Phut  [Libya]  were  in  thine  army, 
thy  men  of  war  :  they  hanged  the  shield  and  helmet  in  thee. 
.  .  .  Tarshish  was  thy  merchant  by  reason  of  the  multitude  of 
all  kind  of  riches — silver,  iron,  tin,  and  lead.  [Greece  and 
other  lands]  traded  in  thy  fairs  in  slaves,  horses,  mules,  ivory, 
and  ebony  :  [Syria]  in  emeralds,  purple  and  broidered  work, 
and  fine  linen  and  coral  and  agate  :  [Judah  and  Israel]  in  thy 
market-wheat,  and  honey,  and  oil,  and  balm  :  [Damascus]  in 
the  multitude  of  the  wares  of  thy  making,  for  the  multitude  of 
all  riches,  in  the  wine  of  Helbon,  and  white  wool :  [Dan  and 
Javan,  i.e.,  Greece]  bright  iron,  cassia,  and  calamus :  [Dedan] 
precious  cloths  for  chariots  :  [Arabia  and  Kedar]  lambs,  rams, 
and  goats :  [Sheba,  a  part  of  Arabia]  spices,  precious  stones, 
and  gold  :  [Sheba  and  Assyria,  &c.]  blue  cloths  and  broidered 
work,  chests  of  rich  apparel,  made  of  cedar.  .  .  .  Thou  wast 
replenished  and  made  very  glorious  in  the  midst  of  the  seas  ; 
thy  rowers  have  brought  thee  into  great  waters  ;  the  east  wind 
hath  broken  thee  in  the  midst  of  the  seas.  Thy  riches  and  thy 
fairs,  thy  merchandise,  thy  mariners  and  thy  pilots — and  all 


90        EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE  EAST. 

thy  men  of  war  that  are  in  thee  shall  fall  into  the  midst  of  the 
seas  in  the  day  of  thy  ruin.  .  .  .  All  that  handle  the  oar,  the 
mariners  and  pilots,  shall  take  up  a  lamentation  for  thee,  say- 
ing, What  city  is  like  Tyre,  like  the  destroyed  in  the  midst  of 
the  sea  ?  Thou  didst  enrich  the  kings  of  the  earth  with  the 
multitude  of  thy  riches  and  thy  merchandise.  .  .  .  Thou  shalt 
be  broken  by  the  seas  in  the  depth  of  the  waters.  All  the  in- 
habitants of  the  isles  shall  be  astonished  at  thee,  and  their 
kings  shall  be  sore  afraid.  Thou  shalt  be  a  terror  ;  thou  shalt 
be  no  more  for  ever." 

When  Pharaoh  Necho,  with  a  view  to  com- 
merce, and  perhaps  from  some  natural  motives 
of  curiosity,  wished  the  coast  of  Africa  to  be  ex- 
plored as  far  as  was  possible,  he  applied  to  the 
Phoenicians  as  the  first  navigators  of  his  time — 
the  beginning  of  the  seventh  century  B.C.  Some 
picked  ships  being  "chartered,"  the  daring  sailors 
started  southwards  from  the  Arabian  Gulf,  and 
prosecuted  their  voyage  till  they  "  had  the  sun  on 
their  right  hand,"  i.e.,  at  noon  they  saw  the  sun 
to  the  north  instead  of  the  south.  Historians 
quoted  the  saying  as  something  incredible,  just  as 
Dr.  Johnson  laughed  in  scorn  at  Bruce  the  Abys- 
sinian traveller,  when  he  said  that  he  had  seen 
steaks  cut  from  a  live  ox.  The  statement  only 
proves  that  they  had  really  "  crossed  the  line." 
The  Phoenicians  rounded  the  Cape  and  returned 
to  Egypt  by  the  Straits  of  Hercules,  the  voyage 
occupying  three  years.  More  than  a  hundred 
years  later,  another  Phoenician,  Hanno,  a  chief 
magistrate  of  Carthage,  explored  the  west  coast 
of  Africa  with  a  fleet  of  sixty  ships,  and  on  his 
return  put  up  in  the  temple  of  Moloch  an  inscrip- 
tion on  a  tablet,  of  which  a  Greek  translation  re- 
mains. He  seems  to  have  reached  the  Bight  of 
Benin,  establishing  on  his  way  many  trading  sta- 
tions, and  several  of  his  geographical  references 
have  been  identified. 


HITTITES,    PHOENICIANS,   AND   HEBREWS.        91 

Carthage,  chief  of  the  Phoenician  colonies, 
waged  a  great  war  against  Europe  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  fifth  century  B.C.  First,  with  the 
Greeks  in  attempting  to  take  the  island  Sicily  ; 
and  afterwards  against  all  the  might  of  Rome,  in 
what  Latin  writers  called  the  "  Punic,"  i.e.,  Phoe- 
nician wars.  The  great  generalship  of  such  Phoe- 
nicians as  Hamilcar,  Hasdrubal,  and  especially 
Hannibal,  nearly  made  Carthage  mistress  of 
Europe;  but  the  struggle  between  the  Semites 
and  Aryans  at  length  left  the  latter  supreme,  as 
they  have  remained  ever  since.  The  defeat  of 
the  Phoenician  race  by  Rome  was  a  "  gain  to  the 
world  at  large." 

In  the  Punic  wars,  Carthage  really  represented 
the  Phoenician  race,  since  Phoenicia,  the  mother- 
state,  had  already  dwindled  to  be  subservient  to 
Persia.  From  the  beginning  of  the  seventh  cen- 
tury B.C.,  Phoenicia  felt  the  power  of  Assyria,  and 
after  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  Nebuchadnezzar 
sacked  Sidon  with  shocking  carnage,  and  then  sat 
down  before  the  proud  island-capital  in  one  of 
the  most  famous  sieges  known  to  history.  Tyre 
had  resources  enough,  we  are  told,  to  resist  him 
for  thirteen  years.  The  Phoenician  king  was  then 
taken  to  Babylon,  and  the  maritime  confederacy 
was  reduced  to  a  Babylonian  dependency.  In 
527  B  c.,  Phoenicia  was  conquered  by  Cambyses, 
and  thus  became  part  of  a  Persian  satrapy,  the 
other  parts  being  Syria,  Palestine,  and  Cyprus. 
The  closing  dynasty  of  Sidonian  kings  reigned 
from  460  to  333  B.C.,  when  at  last  Phoenicia 
ceased  to  be  a  state  on  its  conquest  by  Alexander 
the  Great. 

After  Sidon,  Byblus,  and  Aradus  had  accepted 
the  terms  of  the  Macedonian  conqueror,  Tyre 


92        EXTINCT  CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE   EAST. 

proudly  refused  to  do  so,  because  he  insisted  on 
possessing  their  city  and  its  fleet.  The  Phoenician 
citizens  trusted  to  their  walls,  150  feet  high,  and 
the  wide  deep  channel  which  separated  their 
island  from  the  coast.  Alexander,  however,  had 
a  will  like  that  of  Hannibal,  or  Julius  Caesar,  or 
Napoleon,  and  after  seven  months  of  unremit- 
ting toil,  an  isthmus  was  completed,  which  re- 
mains to  the  present  day.  To  carry  out  this 
enormous  scheme  of  engineering,  Alexander  had 
to  repel  the  attacks  of  the  Tyrian  war-ships,  and 
drive  away  the  Arabs  who  were  preventing  the 
workmen  from  cutting  timber  in  the  mountains. 
Once  the  whole  of  the  work  was  undone  by  a 
storm,  but  the  great  captain  only  pushed  on  the 
undertaking  with  greater  vigour.  Whole  trees  in 
thousands  were  sunk  in  the  sea,  and  then  covered 
with  layers  of  stones,  on  which  other  trees  were 
heaped,  till  at  last  the  deep  strait  was  filled  up. 
The  mole  being  finished,  the  wall  breached,  and 
the  island  capital  taken  by  storm,  8000  defenders 
were  put  to  the  sword,  2000  crucified  for  the 
murder  of  some  Greek  prisoners,  and  30,000  sold 
as  slaves.  Before  the  siege  began,  the  Tyrians 
had  sent  their  wives  and  children  by  sea  to 
Carthage.  The  only  persons  spared  were  the 
king  and  leading  magistrates,  who  had  taken 
refuge  in  the  great  temple  of  Melkarth.  The 
mole  of  Alexander  can-  still  be  traced  as  the  back- 
bone of  the  real  isthmus  which  has  since  been 
formed  by  alluvial  deposits. 

Tyre,  or  Tyr,  was  originally  Sur,  or  Syr,  as  the 
Arabic  name  is  to  this  day,  and  hence  came  the 
word  Syria.  The  island  town  has  now  a  popula- 
tion of  4000  or  5000,  according  to  M.  Booet,  in 
"  Visit  to  Sacred  Lands  "  (ed.  1882),  much  of  the 


HITTITES,    PHOENICIANS,    AND   HEBREWS.        93 

ancient  site  being  occupied  by  large  hewn  stones 
and  enormous  columns  of  porphyry.  The  only 
export  trade  now  is  in  wheat,  brought  on  camel- 
back  by  the  Damascus  merchants. 

In  the  history  of  Polybius  an  oath  is  men- 
tioned which  was  made  by  Hannibal  to  Philip 
of  Macedon,  containing  two  triads  sacred  to  the 
Phoenicians — "  Sun,  Moon,  and  Earth  "  ;  "  Rivers, 
Meadows,  and  Waters."  These  objects  typified 
tne  essential  ideas  of  their  religion.  Rivers  were 
"sacred  to  gods,  trees  to  goddesses."  The  cen- 
tral point  was  the  worship  of  the  Sun-god,  or  god 
of  the  heavens,  whose  wife  was  therefore  the 
Moon,  Ashtoreth,  or  the  Earth.  El  was  the 
name  given  to  Baal,  the  Sun-god,  in  the  town 
Byblus  ;  and  in  Tyre  he  became  more  famous  as 
u  Melkarth."  The  Phoenicians,  in  their  images 
of  deities,  avoided  any  human  likeness,  and  wher- 
ever they  travelled  or  settled,  worshipped  the 
gods  of  the  mother  country  with  the  same  rites. 
Herodotus  says  that  the  figure-heads  of  their 
ships  were  images  of  their  gods.  The  chief  temple 
of  the  Phoenicians,  that  of  Melkarth  in  Tyre,  con- 
tained no  image,  according  to  Herodotus. 

Their  various  divinities,  according  to  some 
theologians,  arose  from  one  type,  so  that  at  an 
earlier  period,  perhaps,  their  religion  was,  in  a 
certain  sense,  fundamentally  monotheistic.  M. 
Lenormant  says  that  the  Phoenicians  founded 
their  religious  system  "  on  the  conception  of  one 
universal  divine  being."  Among  the  Hittites  he 
was  called  Set  or  Sutekh,  "  the  omnipotent." 
Among  the  Phoenicians  and  Canaanites  he  was 
called  El,  tJu  god,  and  sometimes  Jaoh  or  Jah, 
"the  being,"  "the  eternal."  The  usual  name 
was  Baal,  "  the  lord,"  a  name  once  widely  spread 


94        EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF   THE   EAST. 

over  many  countries,  and  brought  by  the  Celts 
even  to  Britain  ;  the  word  "Beltane,"  Baal's  fire, 
is  a  survival  of  that  ancient  worship. 

Baal,  the  sun,  and  Ashtoreth,  the  moon,  were 
applicable  to  any  god  or  goddess.  From  the 
classical  writers  we  know  that  human  sacrifices 
took  place  on  certain  state  emergencies :  at 
Carthage,  for  example,  a  brazen  image  of  El 
was  heated  to  a  glow  to  receive  in  its  arms  chil- 
dren offered  by  their  parents.  The  priestly  theory 
was  that  such  sacrifices  were  instituted  by  El 
himself,  who,  in  a  time  of  universal  danger,  had 
offered  his  only  son  upon  an  altar.  Most  of  the 
pre-histonc  religions  taught  that  the  deity,  to  be 
appeased,  required  a  man  to  sacrifice  whatever 
he  valued  as  holy  and  most  precious,  such  as  an 
only  son,  a  first  born  child,  or  a  virgin  daughter. 
Some  writers  find  evidence  that  this  was  a  rite 
among  the  primitive  Hebrews,  and,  besides  other 
notable  instances,  quote  the  case  of  Jephthah, 
one  of  the  "Judges,"  who,  in  consequence  of  a 
vow,  offered  up  his  daughter  as  a  burnt-offering. 

§  III.  The  Hebrews. — From  their  tribal  reli- 
gion based  upon  the  distinctive  faith  in  El,  the  god 
of  their  fathers,  this  race  originally  assumed  a 
special  name — "  Isra^/."  The  modern  name, 
"  Jews,"  arose  after  the  division  of  the  nation 
into  two  small  kingdoms,  and  the  subsequent 
diminution  of  that  remnant  of  the  kingdom  of 
Judah  in  which  the  Hebrew  nationality  still  for  a 
time  survived.  When  discussing  the  two  great 
divisions  of  the  White  Race  of  Mankind,  we 
showed  that  the  Hebrews,  as  Semites  or  Syro- 
Arabians,  owed  kinship  to  the  Moabites  and 
Phoenicians ;  and  their  own  records  speak  of 
"  their  brethren  the  Edomites,  the  Moabites,  and 


HITTITES,    PHOENICIANS,   AND   HEBREWS.       95 

the  Ammonites."  In  fact,  these  four  small  no- 
madic races,  living  on  the  skirts  of  the  Arabian 
Desert,  were  all  of  the  same  stock  as  the  Arabians. 

The  cousinship  is  easily  proved  from  the 
Hebrew  history ;  as  neighbours,  speaking  the 
same  tongue  and  of  the  same  occupations,  the 
four  tribes  must  originally  have  really  formed 
but  one  "clan."  Professor  Duncker,  indeed,  be- 
lieves that  the  Hebrews  were  a  sept  from  the 
Edomites  who  had  settled  on  and  .near  Mount 
Seir,  between  the  Red  Sea  and  the  Dead  Sea. 

Esau  is  called  "father  of  the  Edomites,"  and 
married  one  of  the  Horites,  a  tribe  kindred  to  the 
Edomites  ;  Moses  married  a  Midianitess,  Midian 
being  a  part  of  Moab.  Naomi  took  refuge  among 
the  Moabites,  when  there  was  dearth  of  corn  in 
Canaan,  and  her  two  sons  married  two  daughters 
of  that  people.  One  of  these  was  Ruth,  who,  on 
their  return  to  Bethlehem,  became  wife  of  Boaz, 
and  thus  transmitted  a  Moabitish  strain  to  the 
royal  line  of  Judah,  and  even  to  Mary,  mother  of 
our  Lord.  Another  proof  of  kinship  between  the 
tribes  is  the  statement  that  one  of  the  wives  of 
Solomon,  mother  of  Rehoboam,  his  successor,  was 
an  Ammonitess. 

About  two  hundred  years  (210  exactly,  ac- 
cording to  some)  before  the  "  Exodus,"  which  is 
now  a  fixed  date,  the  Hebrew  tribe,  or  a  section 
of  them,  settled  in  the  neighbouring  district  of 
Goshen,  under  the  authority  of  the  Pharaohs, 
retaining  there  their  simple  and  patriarchal  mode 
of  life  as  nomadic  shepherds.  For  some  time 
they  were  well  treated,  especially  whilst  Joseph 
was  prime  minister  to  one  of  the  Hyksos  kings 
of  Egypt,  as  was  referred  to  in  Chapter  III. 
Afterwards, 


96        EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE  EAST. 

"...  fallen  on  evil  days, 
With  danger  compassed  round," 

they  were  harshly  ruled,  being  subjected  to  forced 
labour  and  other  severities.  In  the  Egyptian 
moriuments  of  the  reign  of  the  despotic  Ramses, 
(see  page  60),  the  Hebrews  seem  to  be  mentioned 
as  being  employed  on  public  works;  and  some 
sculptures  represent  prisoners  of  Semitic  race 
making  bricks  and  building  walls,  each  gang  in 
charge  of  an  Egyptian  wielding  a  long  whip. 
They  built  the  two  towns,  Pithom  and  Ramses 
(the  latter  named  from  the  king)  east  of  the 
Delta;  and,  according  to  some  writers,  the  real 
object  of  this  Pharaoh  was  to  crush  them  by 
severity  or  force  them  to  take  refuge  in  the 
Arabian  Desert.  At  last,  in  the  following  reign 
of  King  Meneptah,  their  national  spirit  and  love 
of  independence  led  to  a  revolution,  led  by  Moses. 
This  leader  had  been  trained  in  Egyptian  ideas, 
and  owed  much  to  the  culture  and  learning  of 
that  country.  By  earnestly  reminding  the  He- 
brews of  the  god  of  their  fathers,  and  intensi- 
fying the  conception  that  El,  who  was  the  god  of 
various  Syro-Arabic  races,  regarded  Israel  with 
special  favour,  and  would  deliver  his  people  if 
they  devoted  themselves  to  the  true  worship, 
Moses  established  a  theocracy.  Its  formula  and 
essential  dogma  was  that  "  Javeh  (the  sacred  name 
of  El)  is  the  god  of  Israel,  and  Israel  is  the  people 
of  Javeh." 

After  maturing  his  plans  for  escaping  to  the 
wilderness,  Moses  and  the  Hebrews  left  Goshen 
secretly,  and  directed  their  march  towards  the 
former  settlements  of  their  race.  This  important 
date  is  now  fixed  at  about  1320  B.C.  Encamping 
by  the  Red  Sea,  they  were  overtaken  by  an 


HITTITES,    PHOENICIANS,    AND    HEBREWS.        97 

Egyptian  army,  and  the  latter  suffered  a  notable 
defeat,  afterwards  the  theme  of  many  Hebrew 
hymns  of  praise  and  rejoicing.  According  to 
Professor  Wellhausen,  the  Egyptian  disaster  is 
explained,  first  by  the  sea  being  forded  before  the 
pursuers  arrived,  because  it  had  been  rendered 
shallow  by  the  "  strong  east  wind  "  of  the  narra- 
tive; and  secondly,  by  the  Egyptians  finding  the 
ground  on  the  eastern  side  "  ill  suited  for  their 
chariots  and  horsemen."  Thus,  "  falling  into 
confusion,  they  attempted  a  retreat.  Meanwhile 
the  wind  had  changed,  the  waters  returned,  and 
the  pursuers  were  annihilated." 

The  first  settlement  after  the  Exodus  from 
Goshen  was  at  Kadesh,  bordering  Palestine  on 
the  south,  and  there,  near  the  tribal  well,  was 
established  the  first  Hebrew  sanctuary  and  taber- 
nacle. The  earliest  form  of  "the  law,"  which 
afterwards  was  the  main  feature  of  their  faith 
and  worship,  was  probably  formulated  here,  and 
several  generations  of  the  shepherds  and  goat- 
herds passed  away  in  this  Arabian  tract  before  an 
attempt  was  made  to  invade  the  more  desirable 
land  which  lay  further  north.  When  in  Kadesh, 
the  Hebrews  consisted  of  only  six  or  seven  small 
tribes  ;  but  under  the  teaching  and  discipline  of 
Moses  they  soon  formed  the  nucleus  of  an  endur- 
ing nation.  The  national  unity  had  for  its  centre 
the  symbol  of  the  divine  presence,  "  the  ark  of 
the  covenant,"  the  seat  of  tribal  worship ;  which, 
when  by  the  well  in  Kadesh,  was  sometimes  a 
standard  or  rallying-point  in  fighting  hostile 
tribes.  El  was  "  primarily  Israel's  God,  and  only 
afterwards  did  He  come  to  be  regarded  as  the 
God  of  the  universe."  Rising  in  dignity  as  the 
national  idea  was  enlarged ;  El  became  more 
7 


98        EXTINCT  CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE  EAST. 

just  and  righteous,  more  and  more  superior  to 
all  "  the  other  gods,"  till  at  last  he  was  defined 
to  be  the  supreme  ruler  of  Nature,  the  One  and 
only  Lord. 

The  conquest  of  Canaan  by  the  Hebrews 
under  Joshua  was  undoubtedly  assisted  by  the 
wars  of  the  Hittite  Empire  already  referred  to. 
The  local  races  were,  in  many  cases,  overcome 
without  difficulty ;  but  in  some  parts,  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  native  inhabitants  remained. 
When  the  country  was  distributed  among  the 
tribes  there  was  still  mu,ch  to  be  done  to  make 
the  settlement  permanent.  Even  in  the  moun- 
tainous land  of  the  south,  the  Canaanites  held 
the  site  of  the  future  Jerusalem  and  other  im- 
portant points;  the  plain  of  Jezreel  also,  and  that 
along  the  sea  coast  remained  in  native  hands. 
The  result  of  this  unsettled  conquest  was  that, 
after  Joshua's  death,  in  the  middle  of  the  thir- 
teenth century  B.C.,  there  followed  the  long 
heroic  period  of  the  "  Judges,"  lasting  for  180 
years,  a  period  of  sturm  und  drang,  a  prolonged 
and  dreary  struggle  for  national  existence.  Tribe 
after  tribe  of  the  Hebrews  succumbed,  whether  to 
Moabites,  Ammonites,  Amalekites,  or  Philistines, 
&c.,  and  thus  from  time  to  time  leaders  arose  to 
distinguish  their  patriotism  in  various  ways,  and 
afterwards  become  famous  in  the  nation's  annals. 
The  chief  oppressors  of  this  disjointed  Hebrew 
race,  in  the  process  of  being  welded  into  a  nation, 
were  the  Philistines,  who,  from  the  plains  by  the 
sea  coast,  whence  they  were  never  completely 
ousted,  pressed  north  into  the  plain  of  Sharon 
and  thence  into  that  of  Jezreel.  Defeating  the 
Hebrews  in  a  pitched  battle,  they  carried  off  in 
triumph  the  u  ark  of  the  covenant,"  that  symbol 


HITTITES,    PHOENICIANS,   AND   HEBREWS.        99 

of  the  divine  presence,  without  which  it  were  vain 
for  Israel  to  appear  in  battle.  They  also  destroyed 
the  sanctuary  at  Shiloh.  For  twenty  years,  ac- 
cording to  the  chronicler,  the  Philistines  held  them 
in  subjection,  and  all  that  time  Samuel  the 
Prophet,  whom  alone  they  had  to  look  to,  kept 
himself  apart  in  solitude  and  meditation.  To  in- 
dicate the  humiliation  at  this  time,  the  chronicler 
says  that  the  Israelites  were  compelled  to  go  to 
the  Philistines  if  they  wished  to  sharpen  their 
ploughshares  or  axes.  This  is  possibly  an  exag- 
geration, due  to  the  colouring  which  tradition 
naturally  assumes,  just  as  the  statement  that 
under  Deborah,  the  Prophetess,  when  "  she  judged 
Israel,"  there  was  no  shield  or  spear  throughout 
all  the  Hebrew  land.  The  terrible  disgrace  of 
the  nation  and  the  national  religion,  enhanced  by 
their  own  feuds  and  quarrels,  and  by  threats  of 
predatory  invasions  on  every  side,  drove  them  to 
the  alternative  of  altering  their  form  of  govern- 
ment by  turning  the  theocratic  republic  into  a 
monarchy.  The  first  king  was  chosen  by  the 
aged  prophet  Samuel,  who  then  exercised  the 
greatest  authority  as  "  a  man  of  God,"  and  as 
having  formerly  been  one  of  the  "Judges." 

King  Saul  (1067  B.C.)  was  an  excellent  soldier, 
but  no  statesman.  His  successor  and  son-in-law 
David,  was  the  greatest  king  of  the  Hebrew  race. 
His  reign,  and  that  of  his  son  Solomon,  may  to- 
gether be  termed  the  "  golden  age  "  and  "  Augus- 
tan period  "  of  Israel.  This  short  culmination  of 
the  Hebrew  kingdom  in  the  eleventh  century  B.C. 
may  partly  be  explained  by  the  decay  of  the 
Egyptian  empire. 

The  Canaanitish  tribes  and  others  on  the  bor- 
ders had  by  this  time  been  completely  overmas- 


100      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

tered  by  the  Hebrews,  and  the  boundaries  of  the 
kingdom  extended  in  all  directions.  The  strong- 
hold "  Jebus,"  in  the  hill-country  of  Judah,  being 
taken  from  the  native  tribe,  was  made  the  site  of 
a  new  capital,  and  called*  Jerusalem,  "  the  City 
of  Peace."  A  magnificent  temple  was  built,  and 
thus  Jerusalem  became  also  the  ecclesiastical 
metropolis ;  the  religious  rites  and  orders  of 
priesthood  being  at  the  same  time  rendered  more 
dignified  and  imposing.  Various  arts  were  also 
encouraged  in  imitation  of  Phoenicia,  and  some 
important  foreign  trade  existed  for  a  time. 

The  creation  of  this  short-lived  but  brilliant 
kingdom  of  Judah  is  entirely  due  to  David.  The 
later  Jewish  traditions,  according  to  Professor 
Wellhausen,  have  too  much  canonized  him  as  a 
"  Levitical  saint  and  pious  hymn-writer  "  ;  and  no 
doubt  his  treatment  of  military  prisoners  and  of 
the  sons  of  Saul  proves  that  he  was  "  an  antique 
king  in  a  barbarous  age."  The  qualities  of  man- 
liness and  kindliness,  however,  must  be  granted  to 
the  poet-king.  The  "most  daring  courage  "  was 
combined  in  him  with  "  tender  susceptibility." 
The  charm  of  David's  muse  is  permanently  evi- 
denced in  the  lament  for  the  death  of  Jonathan 
and  Saul  on  the  heights  of  Gilboa : — 

"  The  beauty  of  Israel  is  slain  upon  thy  high  places : 

How  are  the  mighty  fallen  ! 

Tell  it  not  in  Gath  ;  publish  it  not  in  the  streets  of  Askelon 

Lest  the  daughters  of  the  Philistines  rejoice. 

Ye  mountains  of  Gilboa,  let  there  be  no  dew, 

Neither  let  there  be  rain  upon  you,  nor  fields  of  offerings, 

For  there  the  shield  of  the  mighty  is  vilely  cast  away — 

*  Probably  David  only  revived  the  ancient  name,  since  a  cunei- 
form tablet  (found  in  1890  at  Tel-el- A nmrna),  written  centuries  be- 
fore the  Hebrew  period,  seems  to  reier  to  that  place  under  the 
form  Urusalem. 


HITTITES,    PHCENICIANS,   AND   HEBREWS.      IOI 

The  shield  of  Saul,  as  though  he  had  not  been  anointed  with 

oil. 

From  the  blood  of  the  slain,  from  the  fat  of  the  mighty, 
The  bow  of  Jonathan  turned  not  back, 
The  sword  of  Saul  returned  not  empty. 
Saul  and  Jonathan 

Were  lovely  and  pleasant  in  their  lives, 
And  in  their  death  they  were  not  divided. 
They  were  swifter  than  eagles,  they  were  stronger  than  lions. 
Ye  daughters  of  Israel,  weep  over  Saul 
Who  clothed  you  in  scarlet  with  other  delights, 
Who  put  ornaments  of  gold  on  your  apparel. 
How  are  the  mighty  fallen  in  the  midst  of  battle  ! 

0  Jonathan,  thou  art  slain  on  thine  high  places: 

1  am  distressed  for  thee,  my  brother  Jonathan  ; 
Very  pleasant  hast  thou  been  to  me  : 

Thy  love  to  me  was  wonderful,  passing  the  love  of  women. 

How  are  the  mighty  fallen, 

And  the  weapons  of  war  perished  !  " 

Solomon  had  no  military  genius,  and  allowed 
the  Syrians,  Edomites,  and  others  to  regain  much 
of  their  former  power.  He  showed,  however, 
great  wisdom  in  the  internal  management  of  his 
kingdom.  Imitating  Egypt  and  the  great  Asiatic 
kings  in  grandeur  and  display,  he  spent  so  much 
on  architecture,  court  ceremonial,  and  his  harem, 
that  his  people  were  overwhelmed  with  taxes; 
and  he  finished  his  reign  as  a  voluptuous  sultan, 
an  idolatrous  despot,  977  B.C. 

The  Hebrew  state  soon  became  divided  into 
two  kingdoms — Judah  in  the  south  and  Israel  in 
the  north.  In  the  latter  kingdom  for  250  years 
scarcely  any  king  succeeded  to  the  throne,  unless 
by  the  murder  of  his  predecessor;  and  at  last  the 
Assyrian  Shalmanezer  invaded  the  country  and 
carried  most  of  the  people  into  captivity.  To 
colonize  the  country  round  Samaria,  capital  of 
the  northern  kingdom,  he  then  deported  Assyri- 
ans, who,  by  mingling  and  intermarrying  with 


102      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE   EAST. 

the  Hebrews  left  there,  formed  a  new  race  called 
Samaritans. 

The  chief  of  the  two  Hebrew  kingdoms,  that 
of  Judah  or  the  "  House  of  David,"  had  a  suc- 
cession of  twenty  kings,  many  of  whom  were 
idolatrous.  Under  these  the  little  state  became 
subject  to  Egypt,  Assyria,  and  Babylonia ;  and  at 
last  Jerusalem  was  stormed,  and  the  temple  of 
Solomon  plundered  and  burnt,  588  B.C.  This 
was  done  by  the  great  Nebuchadnezzar,  on  a 
second  visit.  Eleven  years  previously  he  had 
taken  Jerusalem,  and  sent  the  king  captive  to 
Babylon  ;  and  now,  in  indignation  at  the  national 
resistance,  he  ordered  the  capital  to  be  destroyed, 
most  of  the  inhabitants  to  be  removed  to  Chal- 
dea,  and  the  king  Zedekiah  to  have  his  eyes  put 
out. 

The  captivity  of  the  northern  kingdom  (called 
"Israel,"  or  the  Ten  Tribes),  under  Shalmanezer, 
and  that  of  the  southern  kingdom  (called  Judah, 
or  the  "Two  Tribes"),  under  Nebuchadnezzar, 
may  together  be  said  to  close  the  history  of  the 
ancient  Hebrews.  The  ten  tribes,  when  deported 
to  Assyria  and  the  Median  mountains  beyond, 
entirely  lost  their  nationality,  and  no  trace  of 
them  has  ever  been  found.  The  two  remaining 
tribes,  which  had  formed  the  kingdom  of  Judah, 
found,  in  due  time,  an  opportunity  of  returning 
to  Jerusalem,  but  so  kindly  were  they  treated  in 
Babylon  that  less  than  half  of  them  chose  to  re- 
turn. Some  reliable  writers  inform  us,  indeed, 
that,  excepting  the  priests  and  Levites,  those  who 
returned  from  the  captivity  were  all  of  an  inferior 
sort.  The  first  "  extinct  civilization  "  due  to  the 
Hebrew  race,  therefore,  came  to  an  end  when 
Judah  was  taken  captive  to  Babylon.  When  the 


HITTITES,    PHCENICIANS,   AND   HEBREWS.     103 

remnant  returned,  after  a  gap  of  fifty  years,  the 
circumstances  were  so  altered  that  the  nation 
formed  an  entirely  new  point  of  departure,  and 
thus,  with  the  vitality  derived  from  their  residence 
in  Babylon,  began  to  build  up  a  second  form  of 
civilization.  This  came  to  an  end  when  their  ex- 
istence as  a  territorial  nation  was  finally  extin- 
guished by  the  Romans. 

The  captivity  of  Judah  (/>.,  the  Hebrew  race) 
in  Babylon  was  therefore  really  a  boon  ;  and,  from 
the  end  of  the  sixth  century  B.C.  till  the  second 
century  A.D.,  the  u  land  of  exile  "  was  in  many 
respects  more  highly  respected  than  even  the 
"  holy  land  "  of  Palestine.  "  Jews  "  now  became 
the  name  of  the  nation,  since  all  professed  to  be 
Judaeans,  or  descended  from  the  kingdom  of 
Judah;  and  ignored  that  remnant  of  the  north- 
ern kingdom  who  had  remained  around  Samaria. 
Many  characteristic  institutions  of  the  Jewish 
synagogue  had  been  a  growth  of  their  stay  in 
Babylon;  the  "oral  law"  was  there  developed, 
and  the  mysterious  belief  in  a  "  Messiah,"  the 
divinely  sent  deliverer  from  thraldom.  Some  of 
the  finest  chapters  in  Isaiah,  and  many  of  the 
Psalms,  are  attributed  to  this  time ;  and  many 
theologians  hold  that,  by  assimilating  the  culture 
and  higher  philosophy  of  the  Euphrates  valley, 
the  Jews  then  first  realised  that  the  resurrection 
of  the  body  and  the  immortality  of  the  soul 
are  essential  dogmas  of  the  true  religion  of 
humanity. 

When  the  new  Hebrew,  or  rather  Jewish,  na- 
tion began  to  rebuild  the  temple  in  Jerusalem, 
a  curious  difficulty  arose.  The  Samaritans,  or 
mixed  race,  who  had  held  the  district  north  of 
Judah  since  the  eighth  century  B.C.,  requested  to 


104      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS  OF   THE   EAST. 

assist  in  this  pious  work,  as  they  had  always 
maintained  the  Hebrew  worship,  even  when  the 
Jews  were  in  exile.  The  latter  refused,  alleging 
that  some  of  the  Samaritans  had  mixed  the  wor- 
ship of  idols  with  the  true  worship  of  Javeh.  In 
revenge  the  mixed  northern  race  did  all  they 
could  to  hinder  the  building  of  the  temple,  and 
were  so  successful  that  the  work  was  stopped  till 
the  year  520  B.C.  They  further  tried  jealously  to 
interfere  with  the  rebuilding  of  the  walls  of  Jeru- 
salem. Hence  the  bitter  enmity  between  these 
small  kindred  races,  expressed  in  the  History  of 
Our  Lord  by  the  phrase,  "  for  the  Jews  have"  no 
dealings  with  the  Samaritans."  The  Jewish  na- 
tion, on  their  restoration  to  the  south  of  Pales- 
tine, was  not  a  kingdom,  but  under  the  long 
reign  of  Darius,  their  Persian  ruler,  they  lived 
prosperously,  and  identified  their  patriotism  with 
the  new  form  of  their  monotheistic  religion.  King 
Artaxerxes  authorized  Nehemiah,  who  was  his 
cup-bearer,  and  of  Jewish  descent,  to  fortify 
Jerusalem  and  restore  the  Jewish  affairs  to  a 
state  of  order,  444  B.C.  (see  page  182).  Much 
religious  reform  was  now  carried  out,  and  the 
sacred  records  were  compiled — the  basis  of  the 
Jewish  "Holy  Scriptures."  The  Samaritans  built 
a  rival  temple  on  Mount  Gerizim,  and  created 
orders  of  priesthood  independent  of  those  in 
Jerusalem,  so  as  to  render  reconciliation  between 
the  north  and  south  absolutely  impossible. 

When  on  his  march  to  conquer  Persia,  Alex- 
ander the  Great  was  entertained  by  the  Jewish 
high  priest  in  Jerusalem,  and  showed  respect  to 
the  national  religion.  During  the  next  century, 
under  the  Ptolemies  of  Egypt,  the  Jews  had  much 
communication  with  that  country,  mainly  because 


HITTITES,    PHOENICIANS,   AND   HEBREWS.     105 

one  of  Alexander's  generals  had  taken  Jerusalem 
and  settled  nearly  all  its  population  in  Alexandria 
and  Gyrene.  Two  important  results  of  this  period 
are  the  Septuagint  or  Greek  version  of  the  Old 
Testament,  and  the  development  by  Philo  and 
others  of  that  system  of  religious  philosophy 
which  some  writers  call  the  basis  of  Christianity. 
Becoming  subject  to  the  Syrians,  the  Jews  of 
Palestine  suffered  greatly,  and  one  of  their 
tyrants,  Epiphanes  (or  Epimanes,  "  the  madman  "), 
outraged  all  the  religious,  and  therefore  national, 
instincts  of  the  much-enduring  race.  To  compel 
them  to  adopt  the  Greek  faith,  the  temple  of 
Jerusalem  was  dedicated  to  Jupiter,  altars  to  idols 
were  built  throughout  the  land,  and  the  people 
were  even  forced  to  offer  swine  as  daily  sacri- 
fices. Many  became  martyrs  rather  than  submit. 
The  whole  community  were  in  fact  goaded  to  in- 
surrection, as  described  in  the  Books  of  the  Mac- 
cabees, a  part  of  "  the  Apocrypha."  Maccab, 
"  Hammer,"  was  a  name  given  to  the  bravest  of 
the  five  sons  of  Mattathias,  the  Jewish  patriot, 
just  as  the  rude  tomb  of  the  great  Edward  of 
England  bears  the  inscription,  Malleus  Scotorum, 
and  as  the  conqueror  of  the  Moors  in  France  was 
called  Charles  Martel  or  Marteau.  The  patriotic 
Judas  Maccabaeus  and  his  two  brothers  had  some 
success  as  generals,  and  in  the  second  century 
;j.c.  John,  nephew  of  Judas,  actually  assumed  the 
title  of  king.  The  Jews,  however,  were  incapa- 
ble of  establishing  a  real  estate  or  nationality, 
and  it  was  only  under  an  Edomite,  Herod  I., 
that  the  south  of  Palestine  was  for  a  time  again 
to  become  famous.  This  occurred  after  Pompey, 
with  his  Roman  legions,  had  besieged  Jerusalem, 
taken  it,  and  included  Judea  under  the  province 


106      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE  EAST. 

of  Syria.  As  a  servant  of  Rome,  then  the  might- 
iest power  of  the  world,  Herod  was  appointed 
king  of  Judaea  by  the  emperor  Augustus.  Like 
Solomon,  he  aimed  at  grandeur  and  magnificence 
in  constructing  his  public  buildings;  rebuilding 
the  temple  on  a  scale  to  rival  all  that  Jewish  tra- 
ditions extolled  in  the  ancient  one,  and  to  excel 
it  in  style  and  expense.  He  also  erected  amphi- 
theatres and  other  great  works,  and  rebuilt 
Samaria  and  Caesarea.  Herod's  chief  character- 
istics, however,  were  his  cruelty  and  love  of  shock- 
ing atrocities,  almost  surpassing  those  of  the  worst 
Roman  emperors. 

On  the  death  of  Herod,  in  the  year  4  B.C.,  the 
very  date  frequently  assigned  to  the  birth  of  our 
Lord,  the  land  of  the  Jews,  as  a  part  of  the  Roman 
province  of  Syria,  was  ruled  by  "  procurators  " 
appointed  by  the  emperor  to  choose  officials,  col- 
lect taxes,  and  keep  the  population  in  subjection. 
Insurrections  naturally  arose,  with  dreadful  con- 
fusion, intensified  by  the  race  antipathy  between 
Jews  and  Samaritans,  and  local  hatreds  in  various 
districts  between  the  populace  and  the  Roman 
soldiers,  till  at  last  the  Roman  legionaries  under 
the  emperor  Vespasian  appeared  on  the  scene. 
The  rebellion  and  its  consequent  bloodshed  was 
finally  terminated,  70  A.D.,  by  Titus,  son  of  Ves- 
pasian, who  took  Jerusalem,  destroyed  the  tem- 
ple, and  after  frightful  massacre,  scattered  the 
poor  remnants  of  the  last  Jewish  nation  to  all 
parts  of  the  world.  "Judaea  is  conquered  never 
again  to  be  called  Judaea." 

During  the  second  period,  as  we  have  called 
it,  of  their  ancient  history,  the  Hebrews  adopted 
the  chronology  used  by  the  Syrians  and  Greeks 
all  round  the  Levant.  The  Arabians  are  said  still 


HITTITES,    PHOENICIANS,    AND   HEBREWS.     107 

to  use  that  "  Macedonian  era,"  as  it  is  called, 
dating  from  the  time  of  Alexander's  successor. 
This  adoption  by  the  Jewish  remnant  was  but  an- 
other proof  that  the  national  vitality  was  already 
ebbing  and  degenerating.  Another  proof  was  the 
loss  of  almost  all  traces  of  the  Hebrew  language. 
The  Jews  in  Palestine  used  the  "  Ara'maic " 
tongue,  a  kind  of  Babylonian  dialect  mixed  with 
Syriac,  many  words  of  which  occur  in  the  New 
Testament.  "  Hebrew,"  says  Shiirer,  in  his  great 
work  on  the  Jews,  "  was  so  little  current  among 
the  common  people  that  the  lessons  [read  in  the 
synagogues]  had  to  be  translated  word  by  word 
into  the  Aramaic."  All  the  educated  classes  of 
the  Jews,  as  well  as  Syrians  and  Alexandrians, 
naturally  used  the  Greek  language  in  the  form 
used  by  the  writers  of  the  "  Gospels  "  and  "  Epis- 
tles ";  though  in  many  cases  Latin  became  com- 
mon as  soon  as  Rome  created  the  new  province 
of  Judaea.  The  contempt  with  which  Horace, 
Juvenal,  Tacitus,  and  other  authors  refer  to  the 
Jews  proves  that  the  race  had  then  sunk  low ; 
even  the  virtuous  and  cultured  Marcus  Aurelius 
speaks  of  a  traveller,  cum  Palestinam  transiret, 
Judaorum  foetentium  et  tumultuantium  saepe  taedio 
percitus,  alleging  that  in  dirty  and  lazy  habits 
they  surpassed  the  worst  of  the  savage  races  of 
middle  Europe. 

Since  that  final  destruction  of  Jerusalem  the 
Jews  have  had  no  nationality.  Their  continued 
existence  and  differentiation  as  a  race  have  been 
intensified  by  the  persecutions  and  injustice 
which  they  have  undergone  in  the  leading  Chris- 
tian states,  not  only  in  mediaeval  times,  but  even 
in  our  own  days.  That,  however,  is  a  matter 
outside  of  our  present  discussion.  The  results  to 


108      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF   THE   EAST. 

mankind  of  the  extinct  civilization  of  the  Jewish 
nation  which  began  after  the  Babylonish  captivity 
are  mainly  indirect,  such  as  those  which  grew  from 
the  Alexandrian  culture  already  glanced  at ;  and 
no  doubt  a  large  element  there  is  due  to  the 
Grecian  ideas  which  had  pervaded  Syria  and 
Egypt*  as  well  as  other  lands. 


CHAPTER   V. 

THE    ARABS. 

THIS  noble  and  powerful  race  had  not  only  in 
prehistoric  times  developed  an  extinct  civilization 
in  their  native  peninsula,  but  during  the  seventh 
and  following  centuries  of  the  Christian  era 
created  an  empire  greater  than  that  of  Rome, 
extending  from  beyond  India  to  the  Atlantic, 
and  embracing  the  richest  nations  in  Asia,  Africa, 
and  Europe.  Cordova,  Baghdad,  and  Damascus, 
when  the  Moslem  Khalifs  ruled  in  them,  were 
the  most  brilliant  capitals  of  the  world ;  and  the 
civilization  then  developed  contained  the  germs 
and  seeds  of  much  of  the  science  and  philosophy 
of  modern  Europe. 

The  sandy  peninsula,  which  was  the  home  of 
the  countless  Arabian  tribes,  is  (see  map  on  p. 
46)  but  a  piece  of  Africa — a  continuation  of  the 
Sahara.  There  is  the  same  hot,  dry  climate,  the 
same  stretches  of  absolutely  barren  ground,  and 
a  similar-  deficiency  of  rivers  and  lakes.  Arabia, 
however,  is  not  all  barren  ;  a  central  tableland 
occupies  about  one-third  of  the  area,  and  is  sur- 
rounded by  a  succession  of  deserts,  but  the  slopes 


-so 


40 


SPAIN  UNDER  THE  ARABS. 

THE  PLACES  NUMBERED  BELONGED  TO  PHOENICIA  AS  IN  CHAP.  IV. 

l.Belerium  (LandsEnd) 

2.  CassiteritlesrSaUy  I?)  'IctLs'lemg  prvlaUyStMichaett  Mount. 

Z.Tartessus  ( 'Tarstdsh ')    the  district  cuboid  the  Ouadalauivir. 


English  Miles. 


4.Gades  (Cadiz). 
5Jfa2aca(Mdtaga). 


110      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

of  the  coast-ranges  on  the  west,  south,  and  south- 
east are  in  many  parts  fertile  and  cheerful ; 
throughout  the  central  tableland  also  are  many 
beautiful  valleys,  suited  for  pasture,  and  rich 
garden  land.  The  ancient  geographers,  follow- 
ing Ptolemy  of  Egypt,  divided  the  peninsula  into 
Arabia  Petraea  (i.e.,  where  the  great  Roman  town 
Petra  was  capital),  Arabia  Felix,  and  Arabia 
Deserta :  the  first  in  the  north-west,  the  second 
in  the  south-west,  and  the  third  the  interior  gen- 
erally. "Felix,"  in  the  second  division,  was  a 
mis-translation  of  Yemen,  which  means  "  on  the 
right  hand,"  by  which  phrase  the  Orientals  meant 
south,  looking  to  the  rising  sun  as  their  chief 
"cardinal  point."  Yemen,  the  south-western  cor- 
ner of  Arabia,  was  the  chief  seat  of  population  in 
early  times,  and  is  more  fertile  than  the  other 
parts,  being  watered  regularly  by  the  tropical 
monsoons.  Counting  the  north  and  middle  of 
Arabia  as  part  of  the  Sahara,  we  may  call  Yemen 
(in  its  landscape,  flora  and  fauna)  a  continuation 
of  the  Soudan.  Date-palms  abound  in  the  cen- 
tral plateau  and  every  oasis;  they  form  the  staff 
of  Arab  food,  so  that  Mohammed  said,  "  Honour 
the  date-palm,  for  it  is  your  mother." 

The  Arab  belongs  to  the  Semitic  or  Syro- 
Arabic  division  of  the  "  White  Men,"  and  his  kin- 
ship to  the  Hebrews,  the  Phoenicians,  and  other 
races  of  Canaanitish  origin,  as  well  as  to  the  an- 
cient Assyrians,  has  already  been  glanced  at. 
All  these,  however,  were  inferior  to  the  Arab  in 
physique  and  appearance,  in  mental  and  moral 
qualities.  Tall  and  handsome,  spare,  but  well- 
formed  and  muscular,  with  brown  complexion, 
black  eyes  and  hair,  white  teeth,  and  skin  always 
scrupulously  clean  ;  sharp-witted,  clear  and  de- 


THE  ARABS.  Ill 

cisive  in  judgment,  imaginative  and  fond  of 
poetry.  "  Independence  looks  out  of  his  glowing 
eyes;  courage,  temperance,  hospitality,  and  good 
faith  are.  his  leading  virtues."  The  Arab  has 
never  submitted  to  foreigners ;  from  his  early 
infancy,  sleeping  only  on  the  hard  ground,  ex- 
posed to  a  sun  of  African  intensity,  and  often 
doing  without  rest  or  food  for  days,  health  and 
physical  endurance  have  for  ages  been  part  of  his 
nature. 

So  independent  and  "self-contained  "  was  this 
ancient  race,  that  when  the  conqueror  Alexander 
reached  Asia,  and  all  the  States  and  peoples  were 
of  necessity  submitting  to  him,  or  sending  em- 
bassies to  avoid  a  war,  the  Arab  took  no  notice, 
but  stood  apart  with  dignity,  in  spite  of  the  great 
general's  threats  of  exacting  a  punishment  later 
on.  This  independence  of  Arabia  explains  why 
its  early  history  is  so  uneventful  during  all  the 
centuries  before  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great. 

The  Assyrian  inscriptions  give  little  informa- 
tion as  to  the  early  Arabians,  and  those  men- 
tioned probably  belonged  to  northern  tribes 
skirting  Syria.  One  pillar,  built  at  the  sources  of 
the  Tigris  by  Shalmanezer  IV.,  in  the  time  of 
King  Ahab,  speaks  of  "  100  camels  of  Gendib  the 
Arab,"  probably  a  Sheik.  Isaiah  speaks  of  the 
camels  and  dromedaries  of  Sheba,  "  the  flocks  of 
Kedar,  the  rams  of  Nebaioth,"  these  being  two 
Arabian  tribes.  King  David  took  refuge  with  the 
former  tribe,  when  in  difficulties,  and  Solomon's 
Egyptian  bride  said  of  herself,  "  I  am  black  but 
comely,  O  daughters  of  Jerusalem,  as  the  tents  of 
Kedar." 

At  various  times  the  early  Hebrews  traded 
with  the  northern  tribes,  and  frequently  fought 


1 12       EXTINCT  CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE   EAST. 

with  them,  under  the  names  of  Ishmaelites,  Midi- 
anites,  Edomites,  Ammonites,  and  Moabites,  &c. 
Two  sheiks  of  the  Midianites  slain  by  Gideon 
"had  golden  earrings  because  they  were  Ishmael- 
ites," and  "  he  took  away  the  ornaments  that 
were  on  their  camels'  necks."  When  the  "prey" 
was  collected,  there  was  an  enormous  weight  of 
earrings,  "besides  ornaments,  and  collars,  and 
purple  raiment  that  was  on  the  kings  of  Midian, 
and  besides  the  chains  that  were  about  the 
camels'  necks." 

It  seems  probable  that  the  patriarch  Job  was 
an  Arabian  sheik,  since  there  was  a  "  land  of  Uz," 
near  Damascus.  His  friends  Eliphaz,  Bildad,  and 
Elihu  certainly  belonged  to  the  northern  tribes  of 
the  peninsula  ;  and  the  attack  made  by  the  Sabae- 
an  or  southern  Arabs  indicates  most  probably  a 
tribal  quarrel.  Job's  first  messenger  said  : — "  The 
oxen  were  plowing  and  the  asses  feeding,  and  the 
Sabaeans  fell  upon  them,  and  took  them  away." 
The  second,  "  the  fire  of  God  is  fallen  from 
heaven,  and  hath  burned  up  the  sheep,  and  the 
servants,  and  consumed  them."  The  third:  "The 
Chaldeans  made  out  three  bands,  and  fell  upon 
the  camels,  and  have  carried  them  away,  yea,  and 
slain  the  servants." 

In  the  life  of  King  Solomon,  one  of  the  most 
interesting  episodes  recorded  is  the  visit  of  the 
Queen  of  Sheba;  how  "she  came  to  Jerusalem 
with  a  very  great  train,  with  camels  that  bare 
spices,  and  very  much  gold  and  precious  stones," 
and  how,  after  she  "  had  seen  all  Solomon's  wis- 
dom, and  the  house  that  he  had  built,"  &c., 
&c.,  she  said  to  the  king,  "  It  is  a  true  report 
that  I  heard  in  mine  own  land  of  thy  acts 
and  of  thy  wisdom."  Where  or  what  was  her 


THE  ARABS.  113 

land — the  country  Sheba  ?  It  is  now  generally 
believed  to  have  been  Sabaea,  the  south-western 
part,  corresponding  to  Yemen,  of  which  we  have 
already  spoken,  where  there  appears  to  have  been 
a  civilization  developed  at  a  very  early  period. 
The  Arabs  of  this  district,  a  fertile  tableland, 
claimed  to  be  of  an  older  and  purer  stock  than 
those  of  the  northern  parts.  The  Sabaeans  were 
more  allied  to  the  Ethiopians  or  Abyssinians,  and 
the  northern,  or  "  Ishmaelitish  "  Arabs,  more  allied 
to  the  Hebrews  and  Syrians.  The  map  at  once 
shows  that  Abyssinia  on  the  west  is  separated 
only  by  a  narrow  strait  from  Sabaea  or  Yemen, 
and  both  countries  seem  to  have  been  .always 
closely  allied,  and  in  many  points  similar. 
"  Gee'z,"  the  Ethiopic  or  ancient  language  of  the 
Abyssinians,  resembles  the  Yemen  Arabic  more 
than  that  of  northern  Arabia,  and  the  chronicles 
written  in  Gee'z  preserve  some  curious  traditions 
relating  to  the  visit  of  the  Queen  of  Azab  [or 
Saba]  to  the  northern  King  of  Jerusalem.  "  The 
annals  of  the  Abyssinians  say,"  to  quote  Bruce,* 
the  great  traveller,  "  that  when  she  left  Azab  she 
was  a  pagan,  but,  being  full  of  admiration  of 
Solomon's  works,  she  was  converted  to  Judaism 
in  Jerusalem,  and  bore  him  a  son  whom  he  called 
Menilek,  and  who  was  their  first  king."  The 
queen  seems  to  have  gone  by  sea  from  Egypt  to 
Phoenicia,  since  "  she  was  attended  by  a  daughter 
of  Hiram's  from  Tyre  to  Jerusalem."  The  son 
Menilek,  we  are  further  told,  "was  sent  to  his 
father  to  be  instructed,  and  he  was  anointed  and 
crowned  King  of  Ethiopia  [or  Abyssinia]  in  the 
temple  of  Jerusalem,  and  at  his  inauguration  took 

*See  Dr.  Adam  Clarke's  "  Commentary  on  the  Old  Testament." 


114     EXTINCT  CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE  EAST. 

the  name  of  David."  On  his  return  to  Azab  he 
brought  a  colony  of  Jews,  with  a  Hebrew  tran- 
script of  the  law,  which  formed  a  basis  for  the 
future  constitution  of  the  kingdom.  The  motto 
of  the  kings  of  Abyssinia  is,  according  to  Bruce, 
"The  lion  of  the  race  of  Solomon  and  tribe  of 
Judah  hath  overcome." 

From  the  kinship  between  the  Abyssinians  and 
the  Arabs  of  Yemen,  many  argue  that  the  latter 
were  originally  of  African  Origin,  and  after  de- 
veloping an  early  civilization  in  that  centre,  sent 
colonizing  tribes  to  Oman  and  other  parts  of  the 
peninsula.  The  Roman  naturalist,  Pliny,  how- 
ever, says  that  the  upper  Ethiopians  were  Arabs, 
and  de  Sacy,  a  French  writer  of  authority,  con- 
cludes that  the  emigration  was  from  Yemen  across 
the  Straits  of  Babel-Mandeb,  and  that  the  popular 
legends  respecting  Solomon  and  the  Sabaean 
Queen  were  brought  to  Abyssinia.  Whether  it 
was  from  the  Arabian  Yemen  that  the  Queen  of 
Sheba  came,  or  from  the  neighbouring  country  of 
Abyssinia,  in  Africa,  we  know  that  in  early  times 
there  were  queens  in  the  former  country.  Lenor- 
mant  relates  that  even  in  modern  warfare  some  of 
the  Arabian  tribes  marched  with  a  young  woman 
on  camel-back  in  their  midst,  singing  patriotic 
songs  to  encourage  bravery  and  denounce  cow- 
ardice. This  at  once  recalls  how  Deborah,  the 
prophetess,  was  one  of  the  bravest  leaders  of  those 
"who  judged  Israel,"  a  people  akin  to  the  Arabs 
of  the  desert ;  and  how  she  sang  "  Praise  ye  the 
Lord  for  the  avenging  of  Israel,  .  .  .  the  villages 
ceased  until  that  I,  Deborah,  arose : — awake, 
awake,  Deborah,  awake,  utter  a  song:  the  kings 
came  and  fought.  They  fought  from  heaven  ;  the 
stars  in  their  courses  fought  against  Sisera  [cap- 


THE  ARABS.  115 

tain  of  the  enemies]  :  .  .  .  Curse  ye,  Meroz,  be- 
cause they  came  not  to  the  help  of  the  Lord." 
Of  Miriam,  also,  the  sister  of  Aaron,  we  are  told 
how,  after  the  overthrow  of  the  Egyptians  in  the 
Red  Sea,  she  "  took  a  timbrel  in  her  hand,  and  all 
the  women  went  out  after  her.  .  .  .  Sing  ye  to 
the  Lord,  for  he  hath  triumphed  gloriously ;  the 
horse  and  his  rider  hath  he  thrown  into  the  sea." 

Our  Saviour  said :  "  The  Queen  of  the  South 
.  .  .  came  from  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  to 
hear  the  wisdom  of  Solomon  " ;  and  that  descrip- 
tion of  her  kingdom  would  apply  to  either  South- 
ern Arabia  or  Abyssinia. 

Mentioning  those  two  countries  together  will 
remind  the  botanist  that  both  of  them  boast  of 
having  first  used  the  grateful  bean  of  the  coffee- 
plant — the  first  infusion  being  due,  it  is  said, 
to  the  pious  ingenuity  of  the  Superior  of  a 
monastery,  whose  monks  frequently  fell  asleep 
during  the  services  at  midnight  or  early  morn. 
The  nomad  shepherds  had  remarked  that  their 
flocks,  after  browsing  on  the  coffee-plant,  became 
lively  and  wakeful ;  whereupon  the  holy  father 
inferred  that  a  medicinal  infusion — duly  blessed, 
no  doubt — would  be  serviceable  to  his  weaker 
brothers.  In  any  case,  he  unconsciously  con- 
ferred a  great  boon  upon  mankind. 

The  "  Queen  of  the  South  "  gave  Solomon  "  an 
hundred  and  twenty  talents  of  gold,  and  of  spices 
very  great  store,  and  precious  stones :  there  came 
no  more  such  abundance  of  spices  as  these  which 
the  Queen  of  Sheba  gave  to  King  Solomon." 
Throughout  the  Bible  and  many  of  the  ancient 
writers  there  are  many  references  to  the  spices  and 
perfumes  of  Sheba,  Sabaea,  or  Arabia  Felix.  Our 
own  classical  Milton  speaks  of  sea-breezes  which 


116      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

"...  waft  Saboean  odours  from  the  shores 
Of  Araby  the  Blest ; " 

and  the  Tyrians,  as  already  mentioned,  traded  in 
Sabaean  "  spices,  precious  stones,  and  gold."  Of 
the  real  history  of  primitive  Arabia,  however, 
little  is  known. 

Nearly  1000  years  elapsed  between  the  time  of 
Alexander  the  Great  and  that  of  Mohammed,  yet 
there  are  only  three  events  to  record  during  that 
interval.  First,  the  arrival  of  a  large  number  of 
Jews,  when  expelled  in  the  year  70  A.D.  from  Ju- 
dea ;  and,  secondly,  the  partial  introduction  of 
Christianity  in  the  fourth  century,  after  an  inva- 
sion of  Yemen  by  the  Abyssinians,  their  kinsmen. 
Both  these  events  seem  to  have  modified  the  re- 
ligious ideas  of  the  Arab,  there  being  many  prose- 
lytes to  Judaism  as  well  as  to  Christianity.  The 
third  important  event  of  that  period  was  an  in- 
vasion by  Aryat,  an  ambitious  Abyssinian  prince, 
with  70,000  Ethiopians.  He  brought  South  Arabia 
under  the  power  of  the  kindred  race,  and  Chris- 
tianity was  proclaimed  till  the  Arab,  with  the  help 
of  some  Persian  soldiers,  regained  his  native  free- 
dom. In  569  A.D.,  the  year  of  the  birth  of  Mo- 
hammed, the  King  of  Abyssinia  marched  to  Mecca, 
intending  no  doubt,  to  plunder  the  famous  shrine, 
but  received  a  repulse  before  the  walls.  The 
Koran  explains  this  Arab  victory  by  a  miracle 
wrought  by  Allah  in  honour  of  the  birth  of 
Mohammed. 

The  great  crisis  in  the  history  of  this  race  being 
now  at  hand,  let  us  glance  at  the  conditions  and 
preliminaries  of  the  national  uprising — the  motives 
of  a  revolution  so  unprecedented,  so  far-reach- 
ing, and  so  complete.  Long  before  the  birth  of 
Mohammed  the  religious  feelings  of  the  Arab 


THE  ARABS.  1 17 

tribes  were  concentrated  upon  the  "  Kaaba,"  a 
rude  shrine  made  to  show  an  ancient  black  stone, 
which,  like  the  "  Shield  of  Mars  "  among  the 
earliest  Romans,  was  probably  an  aerolite,  fallen 
from  the  sky,  and  therefore  accounted  very  sa- 
cred. With  this  worship  may  be  compared  the 
regard  shown  by  the  early  Hebrews  in  Kadesh 
and  Canaan  to  "  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant."  Dio- 
dorus,  the  historian,  informs  us  that  all  the  tribes 
worshipped  this  sacred  shrine,  and  made  pilgrim- 
ages to  Mecca  to  see  it.  In  the  course  of  ages, 
many  precious  offerings  had  been  made  to  Allah 
(called  El  by  other  Semitic  races),  so  that  the 
possession  of  the  shrine  became  naturally  a  cause 
of  rivalry  among  the  leading  tribes.  At  last,  in 
the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century  A.D.,  the  chiefs 
of  the  Koreish  tribe  got  permanent  possession 
of  the  little  temple,  and,  as  hereditary  custodians, 
became  of  great  importance.  They  also  increased 
their  wealth  and  influence  by  traffic  between  the 
ports  of  the  Red  Sea. 

Besides  the  Kaaba,  and  the  yearly  pilgrimage 
to  it,  there  was  another  ancient  institution  which 
helped  to  make  Mecca  the  religious  capital  and 
centre  of  national  worship,  and  which  may  remind 
one  of  those  famous  games  of  unknown  antiquity, 
celebrated  at  Olympia  by  the  Greeks,  and  re- 
newed this  year,  1896,  by  the  modern  kingdom, 
after  the  lapse  of  many  centuries.  A  national 
festival  was  every  year  held  at  Okad,  one  day's 
journey  from  Mecca,  to  precede  the  ceremonies 
belonging  to  the  Kaaba  pilgrimages,  so  that  the, 
tribes  might  contend  with  each  other  for  prizes 
in  horse-races,  athletic  games,  poetical  recitals, 
and  composition,  &c.  This  yearly  festival  at 
Okad  was  as  essential  a  part  of  the  national  life 


tl8      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE  EAST. 

to  an  Arab  as  were  the  Olympian  games  to  an 
ancient  Greek. 

When  Mohammed  came  to  wield  the  will  of 
the  whole  Arab  race  he  found  it  advisable  to 
utilize  the  institution  of  the  sacred  Kaaba,  just 
as  early  Christian  missionaries  have  everywhere 
left  many  "survivals"  of  the  earlier  worship. 
More  than  twelve  centuries  have  passed  since, 
and  still  the  Black  Stone  of  Mecca  is  visited 
every  year  by  many  thousands  In  order  to  be 
seen  and  kissed.  The  Kaaba,  or  shrine,  which 
holds  the  aerolite  has  been  again  and  again  re- 
built, the  last  time  in  the  year  1627,  but  still 
retains  the  shape  and  dimensions  of  the  small 
pagan  temple  which  had  existed  from  an  un- 
known antiquity.  Its  height  is  only  thirty-six 
feet,  and  in  length  and  breadth  it  measures 
eighteen  paces  by  fourteen.  The  walls  are  of 
large  unpolished  blocks  of  stone,  without  win- 
dows, with  a  door  of  silver,  seven  feet  above  the 
ground.  This  shrine  is  surrounded  by  the  Great 
Mosque  of  Mecca,  a  quadrangle  capable  of  hold- 
ing 35,000  spectators.  Every  orthodox  Moslem 
believes  that  the  Kaaba  was  built  by  Abraham 
and  Ishmael,  assisted  by  the  angel  Gabriel.  To 
touch  it  opens  the  gates  of  Paradise  to  every  be- 
liever. It  is  to  Mecca,  birthplace  of  the  prophet, 
the  "  Holy  City,"  that  Mohammedans  all  over 
the  world  (one-eighth  of  the  whole  human  race) 
turn  their  face  when  praying. 

Who  was  this  Mohammed,  who  could  bend  to 
his  will  the  minds  of  a  whole  race— a  nation  one 
of  the  most  powerful  that  ever  existed  ?  He  was 
a  poor  Arab  lad  of  the  Koretsh  tribe,  left  an 
orphan  in  charge  of  his  grandfather,  one  of  a 
race  of  herdsmen,  carriers  and  traders,  sometimes 


THE  ARABS.  119 

robbers,  as  so  many  of  his  people  were  wont  to 
be.  No  schooling  fell  to  his  lot,  but  plenty  of 
hard  work.  In  the  employment  of  an  uncle  he 
had  to  travel  to  Syria  and  Palestine,  and  no 
doubt  his  keen  observation  of  men  and  nature 
supplied  him  with  instruction.  From  the  first, 
we  are  told,  his  thoughtfulness  and  sincerity 
were  remarked;  and  from  his  character  in  busi- 
ness he  acquired  the  title  Faithful  or  Trust- 
worthy. "  This  deep-hearted  son  of  the  wilder- 
ness," says  Carlyle,  "with  his  beaming  black  eyes 
and  open  social  soul,  had  other  thoughts  in  him 
than  ambition."  No  historians  now  assert,  as  was 
formerly  done,  that  Mohammed  was  a  vulgar  im- 
postor. He  retired  every  year  to  a  mountain 
near  Mecca  to  live  for  some  time  in  solitude ;  and 
at  last,  after  much  study,  meditation,  and  prayer, 
told  his  friends  that  he  no  longer  had  doubts  re- 
garding the  will  of  Allah,  or  regarding  the  duty 
of  mortal  men  ;  he  saw  that  idols  were  nothing, 
only  miserable  bits  of  wood ;  that  there  was  one 
God  over  all  and  in  all. 

"  God  is  great,  and  nothing  else  is  great ; 
God  is  great :  we  must  submit  to  God." 

Two  phrases  summarize  his  whole  system  of 
religious  belief : — Allah  akbar,  God  is  the  great 
One,  and  Islam,  submission  or  resignation.  The 
latter  term  has  therefore  come  to  be  used  for 
Mohammedanism  as  a  religion — one  of  the  lead- 
ing faiths  of  humanity. 

However  intense  and  earnest  as  an  apostle 
of  reform,  he  only  gained  thirteen  disciples  in 
three  years.  He  incurred  such  persecution,  espe- 
cially from  the  Koreish,  his  own  tribe,  that  he 
had  to  hide  in  caves,  escape  in  disguise,  and  run 


120     EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

constant  peril  of  his  life.  He  at  last  decided  to 
escape  from  Mecca,  his  native  town,  to  a  place 
200  miles  off,  where  he  had  friends  and  disciples. 
This  place  was  now  named  Medinat-Anabi,  "  City 
of  the  Prophet,"  or  shortly,  Medina,  "  the  City," 
as  it  still  is.  The  Moslems,  as  his  followers  be- 
gan from  this  moment  to  be  called,  314  in  num- 
ber, defeated  an  army  of  Koreish  from  Mecca 
more  than  three  times  greater;  and  in  629  A.D., 
seven  years  after  the  flight  to  Medina,  he  made  a 
pilgrimage  to  Mecca  with  2000  followers.  Soon 
after  he  took  the  capital  from  the  Koreish,  and 
destroyed  360  idols  which  surrounded  the  Kaaba. 
At  his  last  pilgrimage  to  Mecca  in  632,  the  year 
of  his  death,  he  was  at  the  head  of  100,000  Mos- 
lems. 

The  year  622,  date  of  his  escape  to  Medina, 
now  became  the  epoch  of  a  new  era,  one  of  the 
greatest  in  the  world's  history  ;  and  called  Hedjra, 
or  Hegi'ra,  "  the  Flight."  It  is  held  on  the  New- 
Year's  day  of  the  Moslem  year,  which  is,  of  course, 
a  lunar  year.  In  his  last  sermon,  after  fixing 
as  a  permanent  institution  the  ceremonies  of  the 
Hadj  or  pilgrimage  to  the  Kaaba,  the  prophet 
laid  down  to  the  faithful  every  where  the  duties  of 
piety  toward  Allah,  righteousness  towards  fellow- 
men,  and  protection  of  the  weak,  the  poor,  and 
the  women.  It  was  by  such  practice  and  teach- 
ing that  Mohammed  proved  himself  one  of  the 
greatest  and  wisest  of  reformers.  "  I  like  the 
Moslem,"  said  General  Gordon ;  "  he  is  not 
ashamed  of  his  God ;  his  life  is  a  fairly  pure  one." 
The  Khalifs,  or  "  Successors  of  the  Prophet," 
speedily  extended  Islam,  the  new  religion,  to 
other  lands  and  races,  mainly  by  compulsion  at 
the  sword's  point,  just  as  the  great  Charles  of 


THE   ARABS.  121 

the  Franks  offered  "  Baptism  or  Death  "  to  the 
men  of  Saxony  and  Friesland,  when  he  resolved 
to  convert  them  to  Christianity.  Mohammed 
had  converted  Arabia  :  soon  the  Arabians,  by 
their  enthusiasm  and  unity  of  purpose,  converted 
half  the  whole  world.  Jerusalem  capitulated  to 
Khalif  Omar;  Aleppo  and  Antioch  soon  followed. 
After  the  defeat  of  a  large  army  sent  against  the 
Moslems  by  the  Emperor  of  Constantinople, 
Damascus  was  besieged  and  taken,  remaining 
ever  since  a  Mohammedan  and  Arabian  capital. 
As  an  instance  of  the  terrible  fury  of  the  Arabian 
zealots,  it  is  said  that  at  the  battle  of  Hiero- 
max,  an  eastern  tributary  of  the  Jordan,  100,000 
Greeks  perished.  Within  six  years  from  the 
death  of  the  Prophet,  the  Arabs  were  masters 
of  the  district  extending  from  the  mountains  of 
Asia  Minor  through  Syria  to  the  Red  Sea  :  so 
far  as  language  and  customs  are  concerned,  that 
region  is  still  Arabian.  Victories  were  then 
gained  throughout  the  Euphrato-Tigris  Valley ; 
and  in  641  A.D.  the  whole  of  Persia  came  under 
Moslem  rule  after  a  battle  near  Ecbatana.  Pres- 
ently the  Oxus  became  the  eastern  boundary 
of  the  Arab  Empire,  and  the  whole  of  Asia  west 
of  India  was  now  ruled  by  the  Mohammedan 
Khalif  of  Damascus.  India,  of  course,  was  com- 
pletely conquered  at  a  later  date.  The  westerly 
progress  of  the  Arabian  armies  was  equally  star- 
tling to  all  the  nations.  The  Delta  of  Egypt  be- 
ing overrun,  Cairo  was  taken,  and  so,  after  a 
siege  of  fourteen  months,  was  Alexandria,  the 
learned  and  wealthy  capital,  which  the  conquer- 
ors now  degraded  to  the  place  of  second  city. 
The  Copts,  or  native  Egyptians,  gladly  ex- 
changed their  Greek  masters  for  the  Arab  Mo- 


122     EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

hammedans ;  and  socially,  they  still  retain  abun- 
dant traces  of  the  latter.  Continuing  westward, 
the  Moslem  conquerors  soon  held  Tripoli,  Car- 
thage, and  Tangier,  till  the  authority  of  Constan- 
tinople or  the  Greeks  was  entirely  abolished  all 
along  the  southern  coast  of  the  Mediterranean 
to  the  Atlantic  "Ocean.  Africa,  like  Egypt  and 
Syria,  was  now  become  Mohammedan. 

In  three  separate  expeditions  the  Arabs  be- 
sieged Constantinople,  but  without  success,  and 
it  was  not  till  the  famous  attack  by  the  Turks,  in 
the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  that  the  great 
capital  of  the  Eastern  Empire  came  under  Moslem 
rule.  On  gaining  Syria,  they  easily  took  Cyprus 
and  the  chief  islands  of  the  Egean  Sea,  taking 
care,  in  their  hatred  of  images,  to  destroy  the 
famous  "Colossus  "  of  Rhodes.  Sicily,  also,  was 
made  Mohammedan.  Their  non-success  with  the 
Byzantine  metropolis  during  the  seventh  century 
has  been  attributed  to  the  u  Greek  Fire  "  used  in 
repelling  besiegers — a  mysterious  chemical  then 
first  used,  the  precursor,  apparently,  of  gun- 
powder, if  not  of  dynamite  and  nitro-glycerine. 
Professor  Freeman  was  thankful  that  Constan- 
tinople was  not  taken  by  the  Mohammedans  at 
that  earlier  time,  else  "it  would  seem  as  if  the 
Christian  religion  and  European  civilization  must 
have  been  swept  away  from  the  earth." 

The  next  great  step  for  the  Arab  Mohamme- 
dans, after  taking  Africa,  as  then  known,  was  to 
invade  Spain,  and  that  expedition  was  one  of  the 
greatest  items  in  their  magnificent  conquest  of 
nations.  What  was  the  state  of  Spain  in  the 
seventh  century  ?  After  the  fall  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  Spain  was  overrun  by  the  Visi-goths, 
Suevi,  Vandals,  and  other  barbarians  from  the 


THE  ARABS.  123 

north.  The  Vandals  gave  name  to  Andalusia  (i.e. 
Vandalitia] ;  and  both  they  and  the  Visi-goths,  or 
Western  Goths,  were  nominally  Christian.  Before 
the  arrival  of  the  Moslem  conquerors,  the  Visi- 
goths had  become  the  rulers,  but  from  their 
severity  they  were  loved  neither  by  Spain  nor 
by  the  Berbers  of  the  neighbouring  African 
coast.  The  latter  race  readily  adopted  the  re- 
ligion of  the  Arabs,  and  have  ever  since  been 
bigoted  Moslems.  The  Romans  called  the  Ber- 
bers Mauri  (Gr.  mauros,  dark),  and  thus  when 
the  mixed  army  of  Arabs  and  Berbers  arrived 
in  Andalusia,  their  Spanish  enemies  called  them 
Mauros  or  Moros  :  therefore  the  name  "  Moors  " 
afterwards  became  equivalent  to  Mohammedans. 
Another  name,  familiar  at  a  later  time,  was  "Sar- 
acens," applied  to  the  Arabs  by  themselves,  and 
meaning  Men  of  the  Desert. 

The  only  point  on  the  African  coast  not  held 
by  the  Eastern  conquerors  was  Ceuta,  the  fortress 
facing  Gibraltar.  Julian,  the  officer  in  charge  of 
Ceuta,  had  quarrelled  with  Roderick,  the  Visigoth 
king,  and  therefore  invited  Tarik,  the  Berber 
lieutenant  of  Musa,  the  Moslem  governor,  to  land 
some  troops  on  the  European  coast.  According 
to  another  tradition,  the  sons  of  the  late  king, 
whom  Roderick  had  unjustly  dethroned,  were 
also  in  the  intrigue,  assisted  by  Jews  in  all  the 
chief  towns.  After  sending  four  ships  and  500 
men  successfully,  Tarik  crossed  to  Spain  with 
12,000  Arabs  and  Berbers,  landing  at  the  famous 
rock  named  from  him,  Gebal-Tarik,  or  "  Gibral- 
tar," the  Hill  of  Tarik.  King  Roderick  marched 
against  the  Moslem  invaders  with  a  large  army, 
and  met  them  by  the  small  river  "  Guadalete," 
near  the  town  "Xeres  "  (both  names  of  Moorish 


124      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE  EAST. 

origin).  After  seven  days'  righting,  according  to 
tradition,  Roderick,  "  the  last  of  the  Gothic 
kings,"  commanding,  in  a  splendid  chariot  of 
ivory,  clad  in  cloth  of  gold,  was  killed,  and  the 
Moors  were  victorious,  though  in  numbers  only 
one  to  six.  Southey,  Sir  Walter  Scott,  and  other 
poets  have  surrounded  this  "  last  of  the  Goths" 
with  some  false  glamour  of  romance.  The  Span- 
ish ballads  tell  that  the  king's  horse,  cloak,  and 
buskins,  adorned  with  pearls  and  precious  stones, 
were  found  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  but  his 
body  could  nowhere  be  seen.  Lockhart's  version 
says : — 

"...  The  hosts  of  Don  Rodrigo  were  scattered  in  dismay  ; 
He  saw  his  royal  banners  where  they  lay  drenched  and  torn  ; 
He  heard  the  cry  of  victory,  the  Arab's  shout  of  scorn. — 
.  .  .  Last  night  I  was  the  King  of  Spain,  to-day  no  king  am  I ; 
Last  night  fair  castles  held  my  train,  to-night  where  shall  I  lie  ? ' 

Such  was  the  end  of  the  rule  of  Spain  by  the 
Western  Goths.  In  the  fifth  century,  descending 
from  their  wild  German  forests,  they  had  ravaged 
"France"  (using  its  future  name)  with  fire  and 
sword,  then  taken  possession  of  Spain,  just  as  the 
Eastern  Goths,  after  passing  the  Danube,  had 
overrun  Greece  and  Italy,  every  step  marked  by 
copious  bloodshed. 

After  the  success  of  the  Arabians  at  Xeres, — 
now  centre  of  the  "  sherry  "  trade,  named  from  it 
— the  Moor  Tarik  took  several  towns,  including 
Cordova  and  Toledo,  the  Gothic  capital ;  and 
when  his  army  was  joined  by  that  of  Governor 
Musa,  the  whole  of  Spain  became  subject  to 
Moslem  rule  in  less  than  three  years. 

At  the  approach  of  the  dreaded  "  Infidels," 
most  of  the  leading  Christian  nobles  had  taken 
refuge  in  the  Asturias  and  the  north,  and  some  of 


THE  ARABS.  125 

the  towns,  owing  to  Jewish  intrigue,  were  ready  to 
open  their  gates.  Toledo,  the  Gothic  capital,  was 
delivered  by  its  Jewish  citizens;  and  of  Cordova, 
we  are  told  that  Tank's  army  approached  the 
walls  by  night  under  cover  of  a  hailstorm,  which 
deadened  the  sound  of  their  horses' hoofs,  and,  by 
means  of  a  shepherd,  found  a  breach  in  the  walls, 
perhaps  left  on  purpose.  The  breach  was  some 
feet  above  the  ground,  but  by  means  of  a  fig-tree 
which  grew  beneath,  an  agile  Moor  climbed  to  the 
wall,  and  then  used  a  turban  as  a  rope  to  draw  up 
some  of  his  comrades.  Thus  was  Cordova  taken. 
So  remarkable  was  the  success  of  this  invasion, 
that  the  Khalif  summoned  Musa  to  Damascus,  lest 
he  should  assume  an  independent  rule  of  Spain. 
Musa  and  Tarik,  713  A.D.,  marched  in  triumph 
from  Ceuta  to  the  distant  Damascus,  bringing 
immense  booty  and  many  Christian  prisoners. 
Meanwhile  a  new  Khalif  had  come  to  power,  who 
ordered  Musa,  the  former  Governor  of  Africa,  to 
be  beaten- with  rods,  and  fined  100,000  pieces  of 
gold,  because  suspected  of  peculation — a  curious 
instance  of  the  absolute  authority  of  the  "  Com- 
mander of  the  Faithful."  One  point  of  evidence 
against  Musa  was  that  he  had  deprived  Tarik  of 
a  golden  table  adorned  with  precious  stones,  said 
to  have  been  made  for  King  Solomon.  Musa 
told  the  Khalif  that  he  himself  had  found  this 
prize,  and  brought  it  as  a  present;  but  his  lieu- 
tenant, the  cunning  Berber,  produced  a  large 
emerald,  which  exactly  suited  a  part  of  the  table 
where  something  was  evidently  lacking.  Thus 
was  Musa  convicted  of  falsehood  and  deception. 
Such  trials,  like  the  famous  "  Judgment  of  Solo- 
mon," appealed  dramatically  and  strongly  to  the 
simple  minds  of  the  Syro-Arabian  races. 


126      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

The  Spanish  population,  and  the  Jews  of  the 
towns,  found  the  Moslem  rule  much  preferable 
to  that  which  the  Goths  had  so  long  exercised. 
Very  soon  the  foundations  of  a  great  State  were 
/aid  which  grew  up  to  be  the  Moorish  kingdom 
of  Spain — the  civilized  Andalusia,  though  at  first 
it  was  governed  as  a  Moslem  province  of  the 
Khalifate  at  Damascus.  Before  being  recalled 
to  that  Arabian  capital,  the  governor  Musa  had 
stood  upon  the  Pyrenees  and  surveyed  the  fair 
"  land  of  promise  "  which  lay  beyond.  Under  his 
successors  several  Moorish  armies  invaded  the 
south  of  France  as  far  as  Burgundy,  which  then 
reached  the  Mediterranean,  and  galloped  over  the 
fertile  fields  of  Aquitaine  in  the  west,  though  re- 
pulsed at  Toulouse  by  Duke  Eudes.  Abderahman, 
the  Moslem  governor  of  Narbonne,  resolved  to 
annex  the  whole  of  France;  and  after  defeating 
the  Duke  of  Aquitaine  on  the  Garonne,  took 
Bordeaux,  and  thence  marched  northwards  till 
the  Saracens  encamped  in  the  rich  ba'sin  of  the 
Loire.  One  object  was  to  rob  Tours  of  the 
splendid  treasures  which  had  for  ages  been  ac- 
cumulated in  the  Abbey  St.  Martin.  Neither  Ab- 
derahman, however,  nor  the  Moorish  army,  ever 
reached  Tours,  since  one  of  the  great  "  decisive 
battles  of  the  world  "  had  then  to  be  fought,  732 
A.D.  This  contest  occurred  some  distance  north 
of  Poictiers,  and  had  an  issue  far  more  important 
than  the  victory  gained  there  afterwards  by  Ed- 
ward the  Black  Prince.  The  chief  man  in  France 
in  732  was  Charles,  who,  as  Mayor  of  the  Palace, 
had  governed  France  during  three  reigns,  and 
afterwards  became  founder  of  the  Carlovingian 
dynasty,  and  grandfather  of  Charles  the  Great, 
the  emperor  "  Charlemagne."  This  ruler  of 


THE  ARABS.  127 

northern  France  was  very  different  from  the 
Gothic  generals  of  Spain,  whom  the  invaders  had 
already  met ;  and  the  Franks  whom  he  led  were 
vigorous  freemen,  more  muscular  perhaps  than 
the  Saracens  themselves.  Six  days  were  spent  in 
skirmishing  and  partial  battles,  and  on  the  sev- 
enth there  was  a  hand-to-hand  encounter  over 
the  whole  battlefield,  accompanied  by  the  death 
of  Abderahman  and  300,000  Moslems.  The  num- 
ber seems  incredible ;  but  there  is  no  doubt  as 
to  the  result  that  the  Arab  invasion  was  finally 
quelled,  and  that  the  western  race  had  so  far 
proved  superior  to  the  eastern,  and  the  Gospel  to 
the  Koran.  The  Moslems  who  survived  hurried 
back  to  Spain,  and  long  afterwards  the  battle- 
field was  in  Andalusia  called  the  "  Pavement  of 
Martyrs." 

By  this  victory  over  the  Mohammedan  in- 
vaders Charles  obtained  the  name  Martel  (Mar- 
teau)  i.e.  "  the  Hammer,"  because  he  crushed 
them.  This  exploit  saved  France  and  Germany, 
and  perhaps  Great  Britain,  from  coming  under 
the  rule  of  the  Moslems;  and  it  is  curious  to  re- 
flect what  might  have  been,  had  not  Charles  Mar- 
tel inflicted  that  utter  defeat  upon  the  eastern  in- 
vaders between  Tours  and  Poictiers.  "But  for 
it,"  says  the  stately  Gibbon,  "  perhaps  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  Koran  would  now  be  taught  in 
the  schools  of  Oxford,  and  her  pulpits  would 
demonstrate  to  a  circumcised  people  the  sanc- 
tity and  truth  of  the  revelation  of  Mohammed." 
Considering  the  importance  of  Charles,  the 
"Hammer"  of  the  Infidels,  it  seems  strange  that 
in  a  recent  excellent  History  of  France,  edited  by 
Professor  Freeman,  there  should  be  no  mention 
of  that  founder  of  a  dynasty,  or  of  his  decisive 


128     EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

victory  in  732  A.D.,  the  centenary  anniversary  of 
the  real  inception  of  Islam. 

After  Charles  Martel  the  Moslems  never  again 
invaded  France  proper.  On  the  other  hand, 
France  only  once  attempted  to  make  a  raid  upon 
Mohammedan  Spain,  and  that  was  under  Charles 
the  Great  himself.  This  emperor  had  already 
obtained  honours  by  converting  the  Saxons  and 
other  north  Germans  to  Christianity,  though  his 
methods  of  convincing  them  were  just  as  arbitrary 
and  cruel  as  those  of  the  Moslems.  He  was  per- 
suaded that  it  would  be  a  worthy  undertaking  to 
attempt  the  conversion  of  all  the  Spanish  infidels; 
and  that,  owing  to  a  political  revolution  in  that 
country,  a  good  opportunity  was  now  presented. 
All  the  Mohammedan  provinces  had  remained 
subject  to  the  Khalif  of  Damascus  till  the  middle 
of  the  eighth  century,  when  Andalusia  (i.e.  Spain) 
declared  itself  independent.  The  juncture  was  the 
change  of  the  Ommiad  dynasty  in  Damascus  for 
the  descendants  of  Abbas,  uncle  of  the  Prophet. 
The  latter  dynasty  changed  the  caliphate  to 
Baghdad,  which  continued  to  be  the  Abbasid 
capital  of  the  Mohammedan  Empire  from  the 
year  750  A.D.  To  avoid  being  put  to  death,  Ab- 
derahman,  one  of  the  Ommiad  family,  escaped  to 
Africa,  and  thence  to  Andalusia,  where  he  was 
received  with  great  enthusiasm,  and  soon  after 
assumed  the  title  of  "  Commander  of  the  Faith- 
ful." This  was  a  renunciation  of  the  Khalifate 
of  Baghdad  :  the  Ommiad  Khalifs  of  Andalusia 
continued  from  756  to  1036  A.D. 

The  revolts  caused  in  Spain  against  Abderah- 
man,  the  first  Khalif  of  Cordova,  gave  Charle- 
magne, King  of  the  Franks,  an  opportunity  of 
passing  the  Pyrenees.  Hosein  of  Saragossa  being 


THE   ARABS.  129 

defeated  by  Abderahman's  troops,  fled  to  the 
French  court  ;  and  to  restore  him  to  power, 
Charlemagne  invaded  Spain,  777  A.D.  The  great 
emperor,  however,  gained  little  by  this  expedition, 
being  soon  recalled  by  the  news  that  the  dreaded 
Saxons  were  invading  France.  •  That,  however, 
was  not  the  worst  of  this  short  campaign.  Much 
of  his  army  had  already  passed  the  frontier,  when 
the  rear  division  was  attacked  in  a  narrow  valley 
by  the  Basque  mountaineers,  a  race  bitterly  op- 
posed to  the  Franks.  Many  ballads  have  de- 
scribed in  detail  the  slaughter  of  the  "  paladins 
and  peers  "  of  the  emperor  ;  and  how  the  Basques, 
or  Gascons,  assisted  by  some  Moorish  chief,  took 
revenge  for  many  a  previous  defeat.  Chief  of 
those  paladins  was  Roland,  nephew  of  the  em- 
peror, whose  exploits  and  death  in  this  pass  of 
Roncesvaux  have  become  the  theme  of  many 
poems  and  operas.  In  "  Don  Quixote,"  one  bal- 
lad is  quoted  : 

"  The  day  of  Roncesvalles  was  a  dismal  day  for  you — 
Ye  men  of  France,  for  there  the  lance  of  Charles  was  broke 

in  two  ; 

Ye  well  may  curse  that  rueful  field.  .   .  . 
There  captured  was  Guarinos,  King  Charles's  admiral ; 
Seven  Moorish  chiefs  surrounded  him  and  seized  him  for 

their  thrall."      • 

After  killing  his  Moorish  captor  at  a  tournament, 
Guarinos  succeeded  in  galloping  out  of  the  ring 
and  escaping  beyond  the  Pyrenees  to  France. 
Roland,  according  to  another  tradition,  fought 
till  all  his  companions  lay  dead  around  him,  and 
then,  breaking  his  sword,  famous  as  Excalibur  of 
King  Arthur,  blew  on  his  magical  horn  a  blast 
that  could  reach  even  the  distant  ear  of  the  re- 
treating Charles^ 
9 


130      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

"...  the  voice  of  that  wild  horn 
On  Fontarabian  echoes  born, 

The  dying  hero's  call, 
That  told  imperial  Charlemagne 
How  Paynim  sons  of  swarthy  Spain 
Had  wrought  his  champion's  fall." 

The  highest  ridge  of  the  mountain  range  is 
near  the  fatal  valley  of  Roncesvaux,  and  a  curious 
cleft  through  which  the  road  from  Spain  enters 
France  is  still  called  Roland's  breach,  being  cut, 
according  to  tradition,  by  a  swashing  blow  of  his 
sword. 

The  most  famous  Khalif  of  Baghdad  was 
Haroun-al-Raschid  ("Aaron  the  Just").  He  had 
invaded  the  Greek  Empire,  and  Irene,  the  Em- 
press of  Constantinople,  was  glad  to  purchase  his 
friendship  by  a  yearly  tribute  of  70,000  gold 
dinars.  He  greatly  increased  Baghdad  in  wealth 
and  reputation  ;  and  it  soon  became  as  famous  in 
the  East  for  Arabic  learning  and  literature  as 
Cordova  was  in  the  west.  The  "  Arabian  Nights," 
one  of  the  world's  best  read  books,  was  written 
under  the  great  Khalif  Haroun.  "  His  court," 
says  Gibbon,  "was  adorned  with  luxury  and 
science  ;  he  was  the  most  powerful  and  vigorous 
monarch  of  his  race,  illustrious  in  the  West  as  the 
ally  of  Charlemagne."  In  the  beginning  of  the 
ninth  century  he  sent  an  embassy  with  presents 
to  Charles,  one  of  which  excited  great  curiosity, 
being  a  timepiece  which  told  the  hours  on  a  bell. 

Baghdad,  "  the  Home  of  Peace,"  still  a  pros- 
perous city,  attained  great  wealth  as  chief  capital 
of  the  Arabian  Empire,  partly  from  its  position 
as  an  emporium  for  transit  trade  at  a  point  where 
the  rivers  Tigris  and  Euphrates  are  joined  by 
canals.  Its  port,  Bassorah,  was  in  ancient  times 
the  busiest  in  the  East. 


THE  ARABS.  131 

El  Hakam,  the  grandson  of  the  first  Khalif  of 
Cordova,  had  been  called  a  freethinker  by  the 
stricter  Moslems,  because  he  encouraged  the  use 
of  wine.  After  his  accession  there  were  risings 
in  Toledo  and  Cordova  which  brought  out  the 
treachery  and  cruel  severity  of  his  character.  He 
invited  all  the  leading  citizens  of  Toledo,  the  old 
capital,  to  a  public  banquet  in  honour  of  his  son, 
and  on  the  arrival  of  the  guests,  said  to  be  over 
700  in  number,  they  were  successively  conducted 
to  an  inner  apartment  and  murdered.  The  ter- 
rible sight  of  their  bodies  thrown  together  into  a 
common  ditch  fixed  that  event  in  the  popular 
imagination  as  the  "  Day  of  the  Fosse,"  the  name 
by  which  it  became  known  in  history. 

The  next  Khalif  of  Cordova,  Abderahman  II., 
was  more  warlike  than  his  father  Hakam,  retaking 
Barcelona  from  the  Franks,  burning  Marseilles, 
and  (839  A.D.)  compelling  some  Scandinavian 
invaders  to  abandon  the  coasts  of  Spain. 

The  easy  settlement  of  the  Moslems  in  Spain, 
and  the  continuance  of  their  rule,  was  due  to 
several  casues  which  are  easily  understood.  The 
previous  government  of  the  Gothic  Christians 
had  been  much  harsher  and  more  arbitrary.  The 
Moslems  raised  the  taxes  in  a  regular  and  im- 
partial manner,  granted  religious  toleration,  al- 
lowed the  native  Spanish  to  retain  their  own 
laws  and  judges,  and  treated  all  slaves  in  a 
humane  and  rational  manner.  This  last  custom 
was  directly  due  to  the  teaching  of  the  Koran, 
many  passages  of  which  prove  that  in  this  respect 
the  teaching  of  Mohammed  was  superior  tc  that 
of  nearly  all  forms  of  Christianity  as  understood 
then  and  long  afterwards.  No  slave  in  a  Moslem 
community  was  hopelessly  excluded  from  becom- 


132      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

ing  free ;  he  had  only  to  go  to  a  respectable 
Mohammedan  and  repeat  the  official  phrase — 
4<  There  is  no  God  but  God,  and  Mohammed  is 
his  Prophet."  That  short  confession  of  faith 
made  him  a  freeman. 

The  Sultan,  Abderahman  III.  of  Cordova,  may 
almost  rank  with  Haroun-al-Raschid  of  Baghdad 
and  Akbar  of  Delhi.  By  good  government  he 
brought  all  classes  to  recognize  his  authority, 
and  put  a  stop  to  the  civil  dissensions  formerly 
prevailing  in  the  Peninsula.  He  also  put  down 
the  misrule  caused  by  the  "  Fatimites,"  a  sect  of 
despotic  Arab  mystics,  who  had  made  Cairo  their 
capital,  and  held  rule  over  Syria,  as  well  as  the 
northern  coast  of  Africa.  The  last  Fatimite  was 
at  a  later  date  dethroned  by  Saladin,  conqueror 
of  the  Koords,  better  known  to  most  readers  as 
the  brave  Saracen  who  opposed  Richard  I.  of 
England.  After  putting  down  some  Christian  in- 
surrections in  Leon,  Castile,  and  Navarre,  Abde- 
rahman improved  the  country  by  making  roads, 
bridges,  canals,  and  aqueducts ;  encouraging 
learning,  science,  shipbuilding,  and  commerce. 
His  navy  was  famous  at  that  period,  and  was 
partly  employed  against  the  Fatimites.  His  li- 
brary, perhaps  the  chief  collection  in  Western 
Europe,  was  said  to  number  400,000  volumes. 
The  fame  of  his  capital  attracted  ambassadors 
from  the  kings  of  France,  Germany,  and  Italy, 
and  foreign  States  contended  for  alliance  with  the 
Sultan  of  Cordova.  The  capital  of  Andalusia 
had  become  one  of  the  most  brilliant,  wealthy, 
and  refined  cities  of  the  world  ;  a  great  centre  of 
learning,  science,  and  culture,  at  a  time  when 
France,  England,  and  Germany  were  still  thickly 
enveloped  in  barbarism.  As  a  focus  of  civiliza- 


THE  ARABS.  133 

tion,  with  systematic  colleges  and  courses  of  in- 
struction, Cordova  may  be  said  to  have  then 
been  almost  the  only  University  in  Europe. 
"  Hither,"  says  the  Arab  author,  El  Makkary, 
"  came  from  all  parts  of  the  world  students  eager 
to  cultivate  poetry,  to  study  the  sciences,  or  to 
be  instructed  in  divinity  or  law  ;  so  that  it  be- 
came the  meeting-place  of  the  eminent  in  all 
matters,  the  abode  of  the  learned,  and  the  place 
of  resort  for  the  studious.  .  .  .  Cordova  was  to 
Andalusia  what  the  head  is  to  the  body,  or  what 
the  breast  is  to  the  lion." 

Its  chief  public  building  was  the  great  mosque, 
built  by  Abderahman  I.  and  his  son,  and  after- 
wards improved  by  succeeding  sultans.  Men  still 
admire  its  forest  of  pillars,  brilliant  mosaics,  its 
arches,  and  a  thousand  beautiful  details;  with 
thirty-one  arcades  from  north  to  south,  and  nine- 
teen from  east  to  west,  its  twenty-one  doors 
adorned  with  polished  bronze.  The  same  khalif 
built  the  noble  bridge  of  many  arches  which  still 
spans  the  river,  a  fine  specimen  of  solid  Moorish 
masonry.  Of  the  many  palaces  of  Cordova,  two 
may  be  noted — Alcazar,  converted  into  a  modern 
prison,  and  the  Ez-Zahra,  "  the  Fairest,"  built  by 
Abderahman  III.,  and  named  after  one  of  his 
wives.  Ez  Zahra  was  chiefly  due  to  the  following 
Khalifate,  that  of  Al  Hakem  II. ,  who  was  de- 
voted to  books  and  retirement,  being  encouraged 
in  that  bent  by  his  vizier,  a  famous  prefect  of 
Cordova,  who  afterwards  earned  great  renown  as 
a  general.  Risen  from  poverty,  a  student  in  the 
schools,  and  untrained  to  any  military  duty,  he 
organized  the  army  so  effectually  that  he  soon 
became  master,  not  only  of  Africa,  but  of  Leon, 
Castile,  and  Navarre.  He  also  took  Barcelona, 


134      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

and  even  the  distant  shrine  of  St.  James,  so  fa< 
mous  to  Christians  over  all  the  west  of  Europe. 
This  shrine,  Santiago  de  Compostella,  is  in  the 
north-west  corner  of  Spain,  though  Shakespeare 
seems  to  think  that  a  pilgrim  in  Florence,  who 
has  just  arrived  from  France,  is  on  the  way  to  it. 
An  old  English  ballad,  written  when  Sandwich 
and  Winchelsey  were  busy  ports,  refers  to  San- 
tiago as  a  place  of  pilgrimage  for  Englishmen  of 
that  day : — 

"  Men  may  leave  all  games 
That  sailen  to  Seynt  James, 
For  many  a  man  it  gramys 

When  they  begin  to  sail : 
For  when  they  take  the  sea, 
At  Sandwich  or  at  Winchelsey, 
At  Bristow,  or  where'er  it  be, 

Their  hearts  begin  to  fail." 

On  his  triumphant  return  to  Cordova,  the 
student-vizier  (who  had  always,  by  the  way, 
taken  his  favourite  books  with  him  in  his  cam- 
paigns) assumed  the  title  Almanzor,  "  Victor  by 
divine  aid,"  the  name  by  which  he  is  known  in 
history.  Some  of  the  bronze  bells  which  he 
brought  back  from  Santiago  and  other  Christian 
towns  were  converted  into  lamps  for  the  great 
mosque.  Being  successful  in  all  his  expeditions 
against  the  Christian  states,  he  became  so  hateful 
to  the  monks  that  one  of  them  wrote  against  the 
date  1002  A.D.  :  "  In  this  year  died  Almanzor, 
and  was  buried  in  hell." 

Readers  of  "  Marmion "  will  remember  Sir 
Michael  Scott,  of  Fifeshire,  a  scholar  and  mathe- 
matician, who,  on  account  of  his  science,  was  re- 
puted to  be  a  wizard,  not  only  in  this  country, 
but  over  the  Continent.  Dante  names  the  "  spare 


THE  ARABS.  135 

and  slender  "  philosopher  in  his  Epic.  Sir  Michael 
obtained  much  of  his  knowledge  directly  from 
the  Arabs  by  studying  at  Toledo ;  and  under  the 
protection  of  the  Emperor  Frederick  II.,  who  was 
an  admirer  of  science  and  philosophy,  did  much 
by  his  translations  from  the  Arabic  to  advance 
the  learning  and  culture  of  Europe.  Sir  Michael's 
chief  translations  from  the  Arabic  were  "  Aver- 
roes  "  (the  means  of  introducing  Aristotle  to  Eu- 
rope) and  an  astronomical  work.  Other  transla- 
tions from  the  Arabic  were  the  "  Almagest  "  of 
Ptolemy,  the  first  Euclid,  and  the  "  Astronomical 
Tables "  of  King  Alphonso,  containing  those 
Arabic  numerals  which  are  now  used  by  all  the 
world. 

Before  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century,  the 
Moslems  had  found  their  power  in  Spain  much 
reduced,  as  the  Christian  states  of  the  north  had 
grown  in  power,  till  at  last  the  only  portion  of 
Andalusia  left  to  the  Moors  was  Granada.  Tole- 
do had  been  retaken  by  the  Christians  in  1085, 
and  now  Saragossa,  Valencia,  Seville,  and  Murcia 
followed.  The  Moslems  still  remained  in  Grana- 
da for  two  and  a  half  centuries,  tributary  to  Cas- 
tile, and  developed  there  the  latest  form  of  their 
civilization.  Their  new  capital  was  named  the 
Queen  of  Cities, — "  the  Damascus  of  the  West," 
— and  increased  to  a  population  reckoned  at 
400,000.  Granada  was  famous  for  its  towers, 
more  than  1000  in  number,  and  especially  by  its 
fortress  and  palace — Alhambra,  "  the  Red/'  said 
to  have  been,  by  its  decoration  and  surroundings, 
"  the  finest  home  ever  inhabited  by  a  Moslem 
monarch."  There  was  a  double  circuit  of  walls 
to  protect  the  capital  from  the  Christian  kings, 
and  two  citadels,  one  on  each  of  the  two  hills  on 


136      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

which  the  city  was  built.  The  kingdom  of  Gra- 
nada was  too  valuable  to  be  left  permanently  in 
the  hands  of  the  Arabians,  since  it  contained  not 
only  the  modern  province  of  that  name,  but  also 
Malaga  and  Almeria — a  splendid  district,  trav- 
ersed by  the  Sierra  Nevada,  beautifully  cultivated 
and  improved,  and  thickly  peopled. 

The  part  of  this  land  which  intervenes  be- 
tween the  mountains  and  the  sea  has  been  thus 
described  by  Sir  W.  S.  Maxwell,  who  knew  the 
country  and  its  history  well  : — "  Through  the 
glens  (between  spurs  of  the  Sierra  Nevada)  a 
number  of  streams  pour  the  snows  of  Muley- 
hacen  and  the  Pic  de  Valeta  into  the  Mediter- 
ranean. In  natural  beauty,  and  in  many  physical 
advantages,  this  mountain  land  is  one  of  the 
most  lovely  and  delightful  regions  of  Europe. 
.  .  .  When  thickly  peopled  with  laborious  Moors, 
the  narrow  glens,  bottomed  with  rich  soil,  were 
terraced  and  irrigated  with  a  careful  industry, 
which  compensated  for  want  of  space.  The  vil- 
lages were  surrounded  by  vineyards  and  gardens, 
orange  and  almond  orchards,  and  plantations  of 
olive  and  mulberry.  .  .  .  The  wine  and  the  fruit, 
the  silk  and  oil,  the  cheese  and  the  wool,  were 
famous  in  the  markets  of  Granada  and  the  sea- 
ports of  Andalusia." 

The  death-blow  to  the  Moslem  rule  in  Gran- 
ada followed  the  union  of  the  kingdom  of  Castile 
and  Leon  to  that  of  Arragon  and  Sicily.  Isabella, 
queen  of  the  former,  was  married  to  Ferdinand, 
king  of  the  latter,  and  thus  a  great  Christian 
state  was  formed,  the  beginning  of  the  modern 
kingdom  of  Spain.  When  the  Moorish  territory 
of  Granada  was  at  last  invaded,  the  Moslems 
took  refuge  in  the  capital,  and  so  strong  were 


THE  ARABS.  137 

the  defences  that  Ferdinand  resolved  on  a  block- 
ade. 

After  holding  out  for  eight  months,  the  king 
and  governor,  Abu-Abdallah  surrendered,  and 
the  Moorish  rule  in  Spain  was  ended,  1492  A.D. 

Before  leaving  Spain  we  may  ask  what  were 
some  features  of  the  extinct  civilization  of  the 
Arabs  as  developed  there,  and  as  affecting  mod- 
ern Europe.  Some  notice  has  already  been  taken 
of  the  influence  on  science  and  philosophy  which 
was  exerted  by  the  teaching  which  radiated  from 
Cordova.  The  Arabs  in  Spain  were  more  for 
poetry  than  prose,  and  one  of  their  poets,  Tograi, 
is  said  to  have  ''furnished  our  own  Tennyson 
with  the  model  of  his  Locksley  Hall."  In  many 
branches  of  science  the  very  words  still  used 
prove  that  Europe  owed  the  germs  and  elements 
to  the  Arabs,  and  sometimes  the  principles  too  : 
algebra,  alchemy,  alkali,  alcohol,  almanack,  elixir, 
talisman^  zero,  at  once  occur  to  one ;  and  under 
astronomy  (besides  the  names  of  many  stars,  Alde- 
baran,  Algol,  &c.)  are  the  terms,  azimuth,  nadir, 
zenith,  &c.  These  and  many  similar  words  through- 
out Europe  remain  (like  some  geographical  terms 
— e.g.  the  Wady  or  Guada  of  Andalusia)  as  indel- 
ible survivals  of  the  extinct  civilization.  Algebra 
was  derived  from  India,  but  the  Arabs  developed 
it  by  Geber,  the  mathematician,  and  others,  and 
taught  it,  as  well  as  geometry,  to  Europe.  Geber 
erected  the  first  astronomical  observatory,  and 
was  also  a  chemist.  The  Arabs  taught  medicine, 
after  the  rules  of  Hippocrates  and  Galen,  till  one 
of  their  own  race,  Avicenna,  superseded  them. 
In  grammar  and  rhetoric  there  were  manuals 
from  early  times,  but  Ebn-Malek,  in  the  ninth  cen- 
tury, drew  up  a  work  which  remains  a  standard 


138     EXTINCT  CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

book,  while  that  of  Hariri  is  still  admired  as  a 
masterpiece  of  grammar  and  rhetoric. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

IRAN    OR    ANCIENT    PERSIA. 

ASIA,  the  most  central  of  the  continents  of 
the  world,  is  also  the  largest  and  the  most  ele- 
vated. Its  height  is  due  to  its  great  table-lands, 
and  one  of  these  in  the  western  division  is  the 
"  Plateau  of  Iran,"  extending  from  the  Indus 
Valley  on  the  east  to  the  Euphrato-Tigris  Valley 
on  the  west ;  and  bounded  on  the  north  by  the 
large  "  depression  "  or  "  continental  basin"  (as 
geologists  term  it)  which  contains  the  Caspian 
Sea  and  the  Lowland  of  Turan.  This  table-land 
of  Iran  contains  Afghanistan  and  Beluchistan,  as 
well  as  modern  Persia,  and  has  an  area  more  than 
twice  that  of  France,  girt  around  by  mountain 
ranges.  It  is  named  from  Iran  or  Eron,  the  na- 
tive name  of  the  race  which  have  possessed  it 
since  the  primeval  Aryan  White  Men  left  their 
original  home.  The  Aryans,  at  a  prehistoric 
period,  swarmed  off,  group  after  group,  to  found 
the  early  European  nations,  afterwards  known  as 
Celts,  Greeks,  Romans,  Germans,  and  Slavonians, 
but  a  large  section  remained  in  Asia.  The  latter 
section,  as  has  already  been  indicated,  split  into 
two  groups,  one  to  descend  on  the  plains  of  Hin- 
dostan,  the  other  to  take  possession  finally  of  the 
great  table-land  of  Iran. 

The  earliest  Persians,  or  tribes  called  Iran, 
seemed  to  have  developed  an  extinct  civilization 


140      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE  EAST. 

in  Bactria,  between  Hindoo-Koosh  and  the  Oxus. 
There  was  a  powerful  kingdom  here  in  the  early 
prehistoric  period,  and  its  capital,  now  called 
"  Balkh,"  has  even  in  modern  times  retained  the 
name  of  Mother  of  Cities.  Even  after  Bactria 
had  become  a  province  of  Persia  proper,  it  re- 
tained much  of  its  importance,  not  only  histori- 
cally, but  as  a  great  entrepot  of  commerce  be- 
tween the  east  and  west  of  Asia.  To  the  Iranians 
especially,  both  Medes  and  Persians,  it  was  vener- 
able as  the  cradle  of  their  national  religion,  the 
birthplace  of  Zoroaster,  and  headquarters  of  the 
Magi.  Bactria  is  sometimes  referred  to  in  the 
ancient  Indian  fables  as  if  some  of  the  Hindoo 
race,  as  well  as  the  Iranians,  had  radiated  from 
that  early  centre  of  culture;  and  the  similarity 
between  the  Zend,  or  ancient  Persian  language, 
and  that  of  the  Hindoos  is  taken  as  another  proof 
of  a  common  origin.  Modern  travellers  describe 
an  oasis  in  the  district  of  Bactria  as  being  "  among 
the  most  fertile  of  all  known  regions,"  and  pro- 
ducing grape-vines  of  unrivalled  size  and  quality. 
This  tract,  due  to  irrigation  from  the  ancient  river 
Margus,  from  which  it  takes  the  modern  name, 
^  Merv,"  has  become  well  known  as  a  frontier 
town  of  the  Russian  Empire. 

The  geologist  finds  reasons  why  various  cen- 
tres of  population  in  this  district  have  undergone 
a  gradual  process  of  "obliteration."  Not  only  in 
Bactria,  but  in  other  regions  in  the  basin  of  Lake 
Aral,  which  were  seats  of  great  prosperity  in  his- 
torical times,  lakes  and  rivers  have  disappeared 
one  after  another,  and  innumerable  towns  and 
fertile  valleys  have  long  been  replaced  by  the 
shifting  sands  which,  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion, are  increased  by  the  hot  winds  of  Gobi  and 


IRAN   OR  ANCIENT   PERSIA.  141 

other  deserts.  The  enormous  "  continental  basin  " 
of  Eurasia,  embracing  the  salt  Caspian  Sea,  with 
its  extensive  valleys  of  the  Volga  and  Ural,  the 
salt  Aral  Sea,  with  its  valleys  of  the  Oxus  (Amoo) 
and  Sir,  has  an  area  larger  than  the  whole  of 
Europe  by  300,000  square  miles;  and  the  whole 
of  this  "depression,"  which  is  quite  unconnected 
with  any  ocean,  has  for  ages  been  gradually  drying 
up.  Traces  of  long-forgotten  cities  have  from 
time  to  time  been  exhumed,  such  as  gold  and 
silver  ornaments.  The  Caspian  is  nearly  ninety 
feet  below  sea-level,  and,  in  fact,  both  it  and  the 
Aral  Sea  are  pronounced  by  geographers  (v.  Chap- 
ter I.)  to  be  "  fragments  of  an  immense  Mediter- 
ranean which  at  one  time  stretched  from  the 
Black  Sea  to  the  Arctic  Ocean."  Thus  Bokhara, 
"  the  City  of  Temples,"  in  the  Oxus  Valley,  though 
still  a  great  centre  of  trade  between  Russia  and 
India,  is  certain  to  decay  by  loss  of  water,  the  en- 
croachment of  the  sandhills,  and  gradual  decay  of 
irrigation. 

The  date  and  details  of  the  extinct  civilization 
of  Bactria  are  long  beyond  recall ;  and  it  is  of  the 
later  development  of  Iranian  history  amongst  both 
Medes  and  Persians  that  we  have  now  to  speak. 
The  Medes  and  Persians  were  the  same  in  race, 
language,  and  religion,  and  together  occupied  the 
whole  of  that  u  table-land  of  Iran  "  already  de- 
scribed. Even  the  modern  Persians  are  mainly 
Iranian  in  race,  with  some  admixture  of  Turkish 
blood.  The  Medes  occupied  a  smaller  section  of 
the  table-land  in  the  north-west  bordering  upon 
the  Babylonian  or  Assyrian  Valley,  but  they  ar- 
rived at  dominion  sooner  than  their  brethren,  the 
Persians  proper,  who  were  scattered  all  over  the 
main  parts  of  the  Iran  plateau.  Both  Medes  and 


142      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF   THE   EAST. 

Persians  claimed  to  be  Aryans  by  descent,  as  most 
Europeans  also  now  do;  the  former  actually  call- 
ing themselves  Arioi,  according  to  Herodotus, 
and  King  Darius  of  the  latter  race  asserting  that 
he  was  an  u  Aryan,  the  son  of  an  Aryan." 

The  familiar  name  u  Persia "  was  originally 
the  name  of  a  single  province  in  the  south-west, 
still  called  Farsistan,  whence  the  name  Farsees, 
or  Parsees,  for  the  people  of  the  whole  nation, 
a  word  now  used  to  mean  "  Fire-worshippers." 
Persis,  or  Persia,  gave  name  to  the  whole  empire 
of  Iran,  just  as  the  Franks,  a  German  tribe  set- 
tling in  the  north-east  of  Gaul,  gave  name  to 
France;  so  the  province  of  Holland  to  the  Neth- 
erlands; the  canton  Schwytz  to  Switzerland;  the 
Slavonic  tribe  Pruszi  to  Prussia;  a  tribe  of  Irish 
settlers  in  Argyllshire  to  Scotland ;  and  the  "  An- 
gles "  to  England. 

In  both  sections  of  the  Iranian  race  much  of 
the  culture  and  progress  was  undoubtedly  due  to, 
or  closely  bound  up  with,  the  common  religion, 
especially  in  its  historical  form,  after  being  re- 
formed and  organized  by  Zoroaster,  "  the  most 
sacred,"  "  the  teacher  of  mankind."  Who  was 
this  great  reformer  of  Iran,  and  what  was  his 
work  ? 

The  prophet  of  the  ancient  Persians  was  called 
by  them  Zarathustra  ("  Golden  Splendour"),  a 
word  which  the  Greeks  spelled  Zoroaster,  and 
his  date  was  placed  by  Pliny  at  1000  years  before 
Moses.  Some  scholars  still  support  that  early 
date,  although  Persian  tradition  only  assigns  the 
sixth  century  B.C.  as  the  period  of  his  mission. 
His  fame  rests  upon  the  Zend-Avesta  or  Bible  of 
the  ancient  Persians,  much  of  which  "  certainly 
dates  back  a  thousand  years  or  more  before 


IRAN  OR  ANCIENT   PERSIA.  143 

Christ ; "  but  notwithstanding  the  value  of  his 
teaching  and  the  purity  and  permanency  of  his 
doctrines,  little  has  been  preserved  of  his  actual 
life  except  the  traditional  miracles  performed  in 
Bactria,  under  the  Persian  king  Hystaspes.  When 
thirty  years  of  age  he  received  his  mission  from 
God,  after  retiring  for  many  years  to  a  mountain 
cave;  and  by  the  display  of  miraculous  power 
soon  converted  the  kingdom  to  his  religion.  At 
the  age  of  seventy-seven  he  was  slain  during  a 
siege  of  Bactria  by  the  Turanians,  a  race  always 
at  enmity  to  the  ancient  Persians,  and  irreconcil- 
ably opposed  to  the  new  worship. 

His  Avesta  ("  the  Law "),  or  Zend-Avesta 
("  Comment  on  the  Law  "),  contains  much  that 
had  been  written  in  the  language  of  the  earliest 
Persians,  and  is  therefore  of  the  greatest  impor- 
tance to  philologists  for  comparing  the  various 
Aryan  tongues.  Its  morality,  however,  and  re- 
ligious teaching  are  of  still  higher  interest.  God, 
or  Ormuzd,  "  the  wise  spirit,  the  good  principle 
of  the  universe,"  is  represented  symbolically  by 
fire,  by  the  sun,  or  light  (called  u  the  son  of  Or- 
muzd ") :  the  One,  the  creator  and  "  sovereign 
master  of  all  things."  A  few  passages  from  the 
Avesta  may  be  quoted : 

"  I  celebrate  the  glorious  Ormuzd,  the  greatest  and  best ; 
all-perfect,  all  powerful,  all-wise,  all-beautiful,  all-pure,  sole 
source  of  true  knowledge  and  real  happiness  ;  him  who  hath 
created  us,  him  who  hath  formed  us,  him  who  sustains  us,  the 
wisest  of  all  intelligences." 

"Zoroaster  asked  what  was  the  Word  existing  before  the 
heaven,  the  water,  the  earth,  before  the  fire,  the  son  of  Or- 
muzd, before  the  whole  existing  world,  before  every  good  thing 
created  by  Ormuzd  ?  Then  answered  Ormuzd :  It  was  the 
All  of  the  Word  Creator,  most  holy  Zoroaster  :  and  he  in  the 
existing  world  who  remembers  the  All  of  the  Word  Creator, 


144      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

or  utters  it  when  remembered,  or  chants  it  when  uttered,  or 
celebrates  it  when  chanted,  his  soul  will  I  thrice  lead  across 
the  bridge  to  a  better  world,  a  better  existence,  better  truth, 
better  days." 

To  account  for  the  origin  of  evil — the  hardest 
of  theological  problems — Zoroaster  said  that  op- 
posed to  God,  the  good  principle  of  the  universe, 
there  was  a  wicked  principle,  the  evil  spirit  Ahri- 
man,  author  of  everything  that  is  morally  or  ma- 
terially bad.  This  spirit,  Ahriman,  though  with- 
out beginning,  would,  however,  in  due  time  be 
destroyed.  Three  prophets — Growth  of  Light, 
Growth  of  Truth,  and  Actual  Truth — would  arise 
to  convert  all  mankind  to  the  true  religion,  Par- 
seeism,  and  then  evil  should  finally  disappear,  the 
universe  become  as  pure  as  on  the  first  day,  and 
the  Spirit  of  Sin  be  destroyed  for  ever. 

.  Thus  "  dualism  "  was  a  distinctive  feature  in 
the  Parsee  creed ;  God  opposed  by  Satan  ;  angels 
and  archangels  opposed  by  demons  and  fiends. 
Ormuzd  created  six  immortal  saints,  with  other 
spirits  subordinate  to  them,  who,  in  their  turn, 
ruled  the  genii  of  stars,  animals,  men,  &c. ;  so 
Ahriman  had  six  evil  archangels,  with  other 
demons  subordinate,  who  ruled  other  evil  spirits. 
By  these  man  was  first  led  astray,  and  so  de- 
graded as  to  require  the  revelation  of  the  Zend- 
Avesta  in  order  to  be  reinstated  in  the  divine 
favour.  To  complete  the  reconciliation,  Mithra, 
"  the  victorious,"  who  had  driven  Ahriman  from 
heaven,  came  to  be  the  guardian  of  man  during 
life,  and  his  judge  after  death.  Mithra  "  seems 
to  have  sprung  from  Ormuzd,  and  to  have  been 
consubstantial  with  him."  In  Parseeism,  or  the 
religion  of  the  ancient  Persians,  bodily  resurrec- 
tion was  taught  as  a  tenet ;  and  several  useful 


IRAN   OR   ANCIENT    PERSIA.  145 

practices  were  inculcated,  such  as  agriculture  and 
husbandry,  keeping  fire,  water,  and  earth  pure. 
"  As  perfect  purity  in  body  and  mind  is  the  one 
thing  needful  to  salvation,"  says  the  Avesta,  "  the 
elements — air,  water,  and  earth — must  be  kept 
from  every  unclean  influence."  "  He  is  a  holy 
man  who  has  built  a  dwelling  on  the  earth,  in 
which  he  maintains  fire,  cattle,  his  wife,  his  chil- 
dren, and  flocks  and  herds.  He  who  makes  the 
earth  produce  barley,  who  cultivates  the  fruits  of 
the  soil,  cultivates  purity;  he  advances  the  law 
of  Ormuzd  as  much  as  if  he  had  offered  a  hundred 
sacrifices." 

Zoroaster  and  all  the  Parsees  had  an  intense 
hatred  of  image-worship ;  and  Herodotus,  the 
historian,  says  of  the  Persians  of  his  time  (fifth 
century  B.C.)  :  "  They  have  no  images  of  the  gods, 
no  temples  or  altars,  and  consider  the  use  of 
them  a  sign  of  folly."  This  was  due,  he  thought, 
to  the  fact  "  that  they  did  not  believe,  as  the 
Greeks  do,  that  the  gods  have  the  same  nature 
with  men."  The  element  fire,  as  being  pure  and 
immaterial,  was  the  only  symbol  of  God  admitted 
by  the  Zend-Avesta.  This  was  the  origin  of  the 
Parsee  fire-temples,  which  represented  divine  wor- 
ship, by  flames  kept  constantly  alight  on  the 
sacred  altars. 

The  antagonism  between  the  Iranians  and  the 
Turanians  was  one  of  blood  and  race,  since  the 
former  were  White  Men  and  the  latter  Mongols, 
or  Yellow  Men.  This  mutual  repugnance  was 
intensified  by  the  religion  of  Zoroaster.  The 
population  of  Media  consisted  of  four  classes — 
priests,  soldiers,  farmers,  and  shepherds ;  but 
only  the  two  highest  were  Iranian,  the  great  pro- 
•portion  of  the  people  remaining  Turanian.  More- 
10 


146      EXTINCT  CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE   EAST. 

over,  the  map  shows  that  their  country  was  part 
of  that  mountainous  region  north-east  of  the 
Euphrato-Tigris  Valley,  whence  the  prehistoric 
Akkads  descended  to  lay  the  foundations  of  the 
Babylonian  civilization  (v.  Chapter  II.).  Much 
of  the  substratum  population  in  Media,  therefore, 
may  well  have  descended  from  the  Turanian  or 
Mongolian  Akkads  who  held  that  region  so  many 
ages  before  the  rise  of  the  Iran  Empire.  One 
might  even  surmise  that  this  admixture  of  blood 
from  the  keen-witted  Mongols  gave  the  Medians 
an  advantage  over  their  brethren,  the  Persians 
proper,  and  led  to  their  being  the  first  to  assume 
pre-eminence  in  power  and  rule. 

The  Medes  appear  to  have  shown  national 
vigour  long  before  the  other  Iranians  asserted 
themselves,  and  could  even  match  themselves 
successfully  with  their  neighbours,  the  Babylo- 
nians, from  very  early  times.  After  being  subject 
to  the  great  state  for  some  time,  Media  revolted 
from  Assyrian  rule  in  the  beginning  of  the  eighth 
century  B.C. 

Another  point  of  difference  between  north- 
west Iran  and  that  of  the  centre  and  south  was 
in  religion.  The  Medes  had  accepted  the  Bac- 
trian  Magi  as  their  priests,  who  assumed  great 
authority,  and  the  Persians  counted  thistan  inno- 
vation contrary  to  the  true  worship  instituted  by 
Zoroaster.  The  religion  of  Media  is  therefore 
called  Magism,  from  their  priesthood,  as  opposed 
to  the  pure  Zoroastrism  of  Persia. 

According  to  Herodotus,  the  first  Median 
kingdom  was  founded  by  Deioces.  After  obtain- 
ing a  character  for  impartiality  and  justice  as 
arbiter  in  local  disputes,  and  then  as  a  judge,  he 
was  chosen  to  be  king,  and  honoured  with  a 


IRAN   OR  ANCIENT   PERSIA.  147 

palace  and  bodyguard.  His  new  capital  became 
famous  under  the  name  of  Ecbatana,  the  chief 
fortress  of  Media,  till  it  was  destroyed  by  the 
Arabs  many  centuries  later.  The  site  is  identified 
with  the  modern  "  Hamadan."  It  was  at  the  foot 
of  a  hill,  crowned  with  the  citadel,  and  a  splendid 
sun-temple.  "  The  walls,"  says  Herodotus,  "  are 
of  great  strength,  seven  in  number,  rising  in 
circles,  one  within  another,  so  that  each  should, 
by  its  battlements,  out-top  the  one  outside  of  it. 
.  .  .  The  battlements  of  the  outer  wall  are  white, 
the  next  black,  the  third  scarlet,  the  fourth  blue, 
the  fifth  orange,  the  last  two  silver  and  gold." 
This  description  indicates,  according  to  commen- 
tators, that,  like  the  Babylonians,  their  neigh- 
bours, the  Medes  worshipped  the  five  planets  as 
well  as  the  sun  and  moon.  What  we  really  know 
of  Deioces  is  that  he  founded  the  Median  Empire, 
and  that  he  made  Ecbatana  one  of  the  most  mag- 
nificent of  cities.  There  must  have  been  a 
national  temple  and  citadel  here  before  his  reign, 
and  some  of  the  grandeur  admired  by  Herodotus 
and  other  travellers  was  undoubtedly  due  to 
Cyrus,  who  made  it  his  chief  capital  100  years  be- 
fore the  date  of  the  Greek  historian.  In  331  B.C. 
Alexander  the  Great  found  it  full  of  valuable 
booty  ;  and  seven  years  later,  when  returning 
from  his  final  conquests,  it  served  for  a  pleasant 
two  months'  resting-place. 

Phraortes  (middle  of  the  seventh  century  B.C.) 
was  not  only  master  of  all  Media,  but  extended 
his  rule  over  much  of  Persia  proper.  After  con- 
quering Armenia  and  other  districts,  he  made  an 
attempt  on  Nineveh  itself,  but  was  defeated  and 
slain  by  the  Assyrians.  The  reign  of  Cyaxares, 
his  son,  who  also  increased  the  power  of  Media 


148      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE  EAST. 

and  besieged  Nineveh,  was  interrupted  by  an  in- 
road of  Scythians,  who  not  only  raided  his  whole 
empire,  and,  for  eighteen  years,  tyrannized  over 
the  west  of  Asia,  scouring  and  pillaging  Baby- 
lonia, Syria,  and  Palestine.  The  prophet  Jere- 
miah is  supposed  thus  to  describe  this  barbaric 
invasion  : — 

"  Behold  a  people  cometh  from  the  north  country,  and  a 
great  nation  shall  be  raised  up  from  the  sides  of  the  earth, 
.  .  .  they  are  cruel  and  have  no  mercy,  their  voice  roareth 
like  the  sea,  and  they  ride  upon  horses  set  in  array  as  men 
for  war  against  thee.  .  .  .  The  snorting  of  his  horses  was 
heard  from  Dan  ;  the  whole  land  trembled." 

And  in  another  passage  : — 

"  I  bring  upon  you  a  nation  from  far,  O  house  of  Israel, 
...  a  mighty  nation,  an  ancient  nation  whose  language  thou 
knowest  not,  neither  understandest  what  they  say.  .  .  .  They 
shall  eat  up  thy  harvest  and  thy  bread,  thy  flocks  and  thine 
herds,  thy  vines  and  thy  fig-trees  ;  they  shall  impoverish  thy 
fenced  cities  wherein  thou  trustedst  with  the  sword." 

This  Asiatic  inroad  of  northern  barbarians 
may  be  compared  to  those  which  occurred  in 
Europe  during  the  Middle  Ages.  Besides  a  regu- 
lar tribute,  according  to  Herodotus,  they  com- 
pelled all  with  whom  they  came  in  contact  to  pay 
ransom  for  life  and  property.  King  Cyaxares 
and  his  nobles  did  not  disdain  to  rid  Media  of 
the  Scythians  by  treachery.  When  on  friendly 
terms,  the  leader  and  chiefs  of  the  invaders,  being 
invited  to  a  feast  and  made  drunk  with  wine, 
their  patriotic  hosts  slaughtered  them  to  a  man. 
His  kingdom  being  again  free,  Cyaxares  joined 
Nabopolassar,  king  of  Babylon,  and  marched 
against  Nineveh  for  the  second  time.  It  was 
taken  in  606  B.C.,  and  Assyria  was  divided  be- 


IRAN   OR  ANCIENT   PERSIA.  149 

tween  the  two  conquerors.  Media  was  now  the 
chief  power  of  western  Asia ;  and  to  strengthen 
the  alliance,  the  king  of  Babylon  married  his  son, 
afterwards  the  famous  Nebuchadnezzar,  to  the 
daughter  of  Cyaxares. 

In  his  next  war,  that  with  the  king  of  Lydia, 
which  lasted  six  years,  there  occurred  a  famous 
eclipse  of  the  sun,  which  had  been  foretold  to  the 
Greeks  by  Thales.  "Just  as  the  contest  (in  the 
last  battle)  was  growing  warm,"  says  Herodotus, 
"  day  was  on  a  sudden  changed  into  night."  In 
superstitious  terror,  the  soldiers  on  both  sides 
ceased  fighting,  and  the  two  kings  hastily  agreed 
on  terms  of  peace.  By  reckoning  back,  and 
assuming  that  the  eclipse  was  total,  Airy,  the 
Astronomer-Royal,  and  others  found  the  date  of 
this  battle  to  be  28th  May  585,  perhaps  the  earli- 
est occasion  of  an  historical  event  being  exactly 
fixed.  A  parallel  modern  verification  occurs  in 
Scottish  history.  When  King  Haco  sailed  from 
Bergen  with  his  Norse  fleet  to  punish  the  king  of 
Scotland,  he  put  in  at  Ronaldsvoe  in  Orkney, 
which  was  then  subject  to  Norway.  Next  day 
he  and  all  his  followers  were  startled  by  the  sun 
suddenly  becoming  dark,  till  it  appeared  as  a  thin 
bright  ring.  Sir  David  Brewster  found,  by  com- 
putation, that  there  was  an  annular  eclipse  pass- 
ing over  Orkney  on  5th  August  1263,  about  one 
o'clock.  Two  months  afterwards  Haco  and  his 
army  were  defeated  at  Largs,  on  the  Firth  of 
Clyde,  and  King  Alexander  annexed  the  Hebrides 
to  Scotland.  Afterwards,  in  Norwegian  folk-lore, 
''  the  ring  at  Ronaldsvoe"  was  naturally  quoted 
as  an  evil  portent.* 

*  See  the  article    "  Chronology,"   by   the    present  writer,   in 
"Chambers's  Encyclopaedia,"  vol.  ii.  p.  228,  &c. 


150      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE   EAST. 

Another  instance  was  the  "  eclipse  of  Larissa," 
so  called  because,  according  to  Xenophon,  it  ter- 
rified the  Medes  when  defending  a  town  of  that 
name  against  a  Persian  army.  The  superstitious 
panic  lost  them  the  place.  Layard  has  identified 
the  place  with  Nimroud,  being  confirmed  by  other 
particulars  of  the  neighbourhood  which  are  men- 
tioned by  Xenophon.  The  date  of  the  siege  can 
therefore  now  be  accurately  assigned  to  i5th 
August  310  B.C. — three  centuries  after  the  reign 
of  Cyaxares. 

The  transfer  of  power  from  the  Medes  to  the 
Persians,  or  from  North  to  South  Iran,  was  due 
to  Cyrus  the  Great;  and  before  the  cuneiform  in- 
scriptions were  produced  as  evidence  (since  1880), 
historians  generally  accepted  that  romantic  ac- 
count of  it  which  we  read  in  the  first  book  of 
Herodotus.  He  tells  that  Astyages,  son  of 
Cyaxares,  and  last  king  of  Media,  married  his 
daughter  to  a  Persian  nobleman  called  Cambyses. 
Afterwards,  having  had  a  dream  about  his  daugh- 
ter, the  Magi  warned  him  that  her  infant,  his  grand- 
son, was  therefore  destined  to  supplant  him  on  the 
throne.  The  king  ordered  Harpagus,  a  devoted  at- 
tendant, to  put  the  infant  to  death ;  but  Harpagus, 
instead,  ordered  a  herdsman  to  expose  him  on  a 
desert  mountain.  The  herdsman  brought  the  child 
home  and  had  him  brought  up  as  his  own.  After 
a  time  the  boy  became  known  for  his  masterful 
and  daring  spirit,  and  happened  one  day  to  be 
brought  before  the  king  on  the  charge  of  having 
severely  chastised  the  son  of  a  noble  Mede.  The 
latter,  in  a  game  with  other  boys,  had  scoffed  at 
the  authority  and  commands  of  the  herdsman's 
son,  who,  when  chosen  to  be  king  over  them  all, 
royally  ordered  them  about.  The  "herdsman's 


IRAN   OR  ANCIENT   PERSIA.  151 

son/"  Cyrus,  undauntedly  defended  himself  when 
face  f.o  face  with  Astyages,  justifying  his  con- 
duct, but  ready,  he  said,  to  submit  to  the  king's 
decision.  "  While  the  boy  was  yet  speaking,"  says 
Herodotus,  "  Astyages  was  struck  with  a  sus- 
picion as  to  who  he  was  ;  thinking  he  saw  some- 
thing in  the  character  of  his  face  like  his  own, 
and  that  there  was  a  nobleness  about  the  de- 
fence; and  that  also  his  age  seemed  to  tally  with 
that  of  the  grandchild  whom  he  had  ordered  to 
be  put  to  death."  Finding  by  the  forced  con- 
fession of  the  herdsman  that  the  boy  was  really 
his  grandson,  the  king  inflicted  such  punishment 
on  Harpagus  as  only  a  barbaric  despot  might 
contrive,  though  he  did  not  deprive  him  of  life. 
The  Magi  told  the  king  that,  since  his  grandson 
had  already  been  chosen  king  by  the  boys,  the 
dream  was  now  accomplished,  and  that  there  was 
no  further  danger  of  losing  the  royal  crown. 
"  Fortune  has  indeed  played  us  a  good  turn," 
said  Astyages;  "  for  the  child's  fate  was  a  great 
sorrow  to  me,  and  the  reproaches  of  my  daughter 
went  to  my  heart."  He  therefore  ordered  his 
grandson  to  be  sent  to  his  father  Cambyses  in 
Persia,  and  for  some  years  continued  his  tyran- 
nical rule  over  both  Medes  and  Persians.  Har- 
pagus, who  had  secretly  watched  for  an  oppor- 
tunity of  revenging  his  injury,  took  advantage 
of  the  king's  unpopularity,  and  intrigued  with 
some  leading  nobles  of  the  Persians  to  dethrone 
Astyages  in  favour  of  Cyrus,  the  rightful  heir. 

Some  historians  assert  that  Cyrus  was  not  re- 
lated to  Astyages,  but  all  admit  that,  before  the 
Persian  revolt,  he  resided  at  the  Median  court; 
and  if  his  father  Cambyses  was  a  "  King  "  in  Per- 
sia, it  were  natural  that  the  young  prince  should 


152     EXTINCT  CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE  EAST. 

be  sent  to  Ecbatana  to  represent  the  feudatory 
state.  The  following  is  a  summary  of  the  ac- 
count given  by  some  writers  who  neglect  the 
narrative  of  Herodotus. 

Becoming  suspected  by  the  luxurious  and 
priest-ridden  Astyages,  Cyrus,  after  alleging  that 
his  father  was  ill  and  had  sent  for  him,  obtained 
leave  of  absence  for  a  short  time,  and  set  out 
from  Ecbatana  the  same  night  for  Persia.  On 
the  following  evening,  during  the  usual  revelry  of 
the  Median  court,  one  of  the  singing  girls  sang 
to  the  king  the  words: — 

"  A  mighty  beast,  more  fierce  than  wildest  boar, 
Is  to  his  marshes  gone,  why  should  he  go  ? 
When  master  of  the  country  all  around, 
To  hunters  he  will  prove  a  deadly  foe." 

The  verses  aroused  suspicion  to  Astyages, 
weak  and  superstitious,  and,  recollecting  a  Chal- 
dean prophecy  in  favour  of  Cyrus,  he  at  once 
ordered  a  troop  of  horse  to  pursue  the  Persian 
prince.  Cyrus  was  overtaken  on  the  following 
evening,  and  proposed  to  the  officer  in  charge 
that  they  should  start  next  morning.  The  Medes 
had  no  objection,  and  readily  accepted  the  prince's 
invitation  to  sup  with  him.  By  arrangement  they 
were  made  drunk  after  supper,  when  he  and  his 
attendants,  galloping  off  with  a  start  of  several 
hours,  reached  a  Persian  outpost  where  his  father 
had  some  Persian  troops  ready  to  receive  him. 
Astyages  on  hearing  of  this  sent  for  his  generals 
to  muster  all  their  forces  and  reduce  Persia  to 
obedience.  Invading  the  revolted  province  in 
person,  Astyages  gained  a  victory  on  account 
of  his  great  superiority  in  numbers — e.g.  3000 
chariots  against  100,  &c.  Having  lost  his  father, 


IRAN   OR  ANCIENT   PERSIA.  153 

Cambyses,  in  that  first  battle,  Cyrus  made  his 
next  stand  at  Pasargadae,  near  the  Persian  cap- 
ital, with  his  army  posted  on  a  range  of  hills. 
The  Persians  hurled  down  stones  and  rocks  upon 
the  Medes  as  the  latter  forced  their  ascent  through 
thickets  of  wild  olive,  and  on  the  second  day, 
when  by  a  fierce  struggle  the  Medes  were  almost 
at  the  summit,  a  sudden  and  simultaneous  charge 
of  the  Persians  forced  them  down  headlong  with 
such  slaughter  that  Astyages  lost  60,000  of  his 
best  soldiers.  Ordering  fresh  auxiliaries,  he 
fought  again  and  again ;  but  the  Persians  still 
rallied  round  their  prince,  and  finally,  in  the  fifth 
battle,  near  the  same  place,  the  Median  army  was 
completely  routed.  All  the  royal  insignia  were 
brought  to  the  young  conqueror  and  assumed  by 
him,  amidst  shouts  of  "  Cyrus,  King  of  Media  and 
Persia. "  Astyages  was  made  prisoner  when 
hurrying  to  reach  Ecbatana,  his  capital.  The 
state  officials  of  Media,  as  well  as  its  dependen- 
cies, readily  accepted  Cyrus  as  their  ruler,  and 
the  new  empire  of  Persia  at  once  replaced  that  of 
Media. 

The  generalship  of  Cyrus  was  proved  in  this 
revolt,  though  many  circumstances  conspired  to 
favour  his  success.  The  Medes  had  long  been 
out  of  soldierly  training,  and  their  king  was  now 
not  only  old  but  effeminate,  whereas  the  Persians 
were  soldiers  of  unequalled  skill  and  daring,  led 
by  a  popular  prince  whom  Ormuzd  was  believed 
to  have  endowed  with  every  quality  necessary  for 
a  successful  captain.  The  orthodox  Persians 
accused  the  Medes  of  having  debased  the  true 
religion  of  Zoroaster  by  their  fellowship  with  the 
Chaldeans  and  the  innovations  of  the  Magi  priest- 
hood. "  The  fall  of  the  Median  Empire,"  says 


154     EXTINCT  CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE  EAST. 

Professor  Rawlinson,  "  was  due  immediately  to 
the  genius  of  the  Persian  prince ;  but  its  ruin  was 
prepared,  and  its  destruction  was  really  caused, 
by  the  shortsightedness  of  the  Median  monarch." 

The  cuneiform  inscriptions  record  the  acces- 
sion of  Cyrus  to  the  throne  of  Persia  with  some 
details  which  can  scarcely  be  reconciled  with 
those  traditions.  Taking  them  as  the  true  his- 
tory, we  now  know  that  his  father  was  really 
named  Cambyses,  and  that  he  was  a  king  of 
Elam,  the  mountainous  country  separating  Persia 
from  Babylonia.  No  doubt  the  nomad  tribes  of 
Elam  were  allied  in  race  and  language  to  their 
neighbours  of  Media  and  Persia,  and  Cyrus  on 
that  score  may  be  claimed  as  an  Iranian,  as  well 
as  Astyages. 

In  549  B.C.  this  king  Cyrus  was  attacked  by 
Astyages,  king  of  Media,  and  the  latter  was  not 
only  repelled,  but  deprived  of  his  capital,  Ecba- 
tana.  After  conquering  Persia,  Cyrus  naturally 
formed  a  new  kingdom  of  the  three  countries — 
Persia,  Media,  and  Elam — and  called  himself  king, 
546  B.C.  Cyrus  was  now  "  the  great  King,"  as  he 
is  called  by  the  Greek  writers.  His  next  war  was 
against  the  great  and  wealthy  empire  of  Lydia — 
really  a  renewal  of  the  contest  which  had  been 
stopped  by  the  "  divine  interposition  "  of  a  total 
solar  eclipse.  The  king  of  Lydia  ruled  a  wealthy 
commercial  nation  occupying  the  western  half  of 
Asia  Minor,  and  commanding  busy  ports  on  the 
Egean  and  Mediterranean,  a  kingdom  rich  in 
precious  metals  and  merchandise  of  all  kinds, 
but  luxurious  and  degenerate.  The  earliest 
known  gold  coins  are  said  to  have  been  struck 
by  their  king,  Croesus,  obtained  no  doubt  from 
the  world-known  "  sands  of  Pactolus,"  near  the 


IRAN   OR  ANCIENT   PERSIA.  155 

capital.  Croesus,  relying  on  his  resources,  and 
wishing  to  avenge  his  brother-in-law  Astyages, 
only-  asked  for  an  opportunity  of  crushing  the 
Persian  conqueror,  whom  all*  now  expected  to 
hear  of  soon  as  an  invader.  Cyrus,  no  doubt, 
had  thoughts  of  the  rich  booty  in  the  towns  of 
western  Lydia,  and  especially  Sardis,  its  famous 
capital. 

By  the  treaty  formerly  made,  after  the  solar 
eclipse,  the  river  Halys,  flowing  north  from  the 
centre  of  Asia  Minor  into  the  Black  Sea,  was 
fixed  as  the  western  limit  of  the  Median  (now 
Persian)  Empire.  When  Cyrus  was  making  prep- 
arations to  cross  it,  the  Lydians  made  haste  to 
invade  the  Persian  territory  and  invite  an  engage- 
ment. Cyrus  was  speedily  on  the  spot,  and  a 
great  battle,  but  indecisive,  took  place.  As  the 
season  was  advanced,  Croesus  dismissed  his  troops 
for  the  winter,  in  order  to  bring  together  his 
allies  from  Egypt,  Babylonia,  and  Greece  during 
the  spring.  The  Persian  king,  however,  had  a 
different  notion  of  warfare.  Crossing  the  Halys, 
he  speedily  marched  on  Sardis,  the  Lydian  capital, 
though  it  lay  at  the  western  extremity  of  Lydia, 
400  miles  beyond  the  Persian  frontier.  Croesus 
had  only  his  Lydian  cavalry,  and  with  these  he 
offered  battle  in  the  plain  before  the  walls.  The 
fame  of  the  Lydian  cavalry  being  known  to  Cyrus, 
he  ordered  all  the  camels  that  had  come  in  the 
train  of  his  army  to  be  collected  in  front,  with 
mounted  riders  upon  them  accoutred  as  horse- 
soldiers.  These  he  ordered  to  advance  against 
the  Lydian  horse ;  behind  were  to  follow  his 
foot-soldiers,  and  last  of  all  the  Persian  cavalry. 
"The  reason  why  Cyrus  opposed  his  camels  to 
the  enemy's  horse  was/'  Herodotus  tells  us, "  that 


156      EXTINCT  CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE   EAST. 

the  horse  has  a  natural  dread  of  the  camel,  and 
cannot  abide  either  the  sight  or  the  smell  of  that 
animal.  When  the  two  armies  joined  battle,  the 
Lydian  horses  immediately  turned  round  and 
galloped  off  ...  though  their  riders  behaved 
manfully,  leaping  off  their  horses  to  engage  with 
the  Persians  on  foot.  At  last,  after  a  great 
slaughter  on  both  sides,  the  Lydians  turned  and 
fled.  They  were  driven  within  the  walls,  and  the 
Persians  laid  siege  to  Sardis."  The  capital  being 
taken,  and  Croesus  made  captive  to  the  Persian 
conqueror,  Cyrus  was  now  master  of  two  mighty 
empires. 

The  end  of  King  Croesus,  so  wealthy  that  his 
name  has  become  proverbial  in  all  western  lan- 
guages, is  uncertain,  but  the  scene  at  the  funeral- 
pyre,  which  Cyrus  had  ordered  for  him,  is  well 
known.  "  O  Solon  !  Solon  !  Solon  !  "  suddenly 
exclaimed  the  victim;  and  when  the  conqueror 
wished  to  know  the  meaning,  Croesus  told  how 
Solon,  the  wise  Athenian,  had  once  visited  the 
brilliant  court  in  Sardis,  and,  after  seeing  all  the 
bravery  and  glory,  had  said  to  the  king,  then  in 
all  the  pride  of  his  happiness,  that  no  man  should 
be  called  happy  till  his  death.  "  After  that,"  said 
the  monarch  humbly,  "my  beloved  son  was  slain 
when  hunting,  leaving  only  a  dumb  brother;  then 
in  the  war  with  Cyrus,  I  was  totally  defeated  and 
my  kingdom  conquered  ;  now  I  am  a  poor  prisoner, 
condemned  to  be  burnt  to  death.'1 

Sunt  lacrymae  rerum,  et  mentes  mortalia  tangunt : 
"  We  needs  must  weep  for  woes,  and  being  men, 
Things  mortal  touch  our  hearts." 

The  Persian  conqueror  did  not  know  Virgil,  but 
the  sense  of  human  pity  is  universal.  Cyrus  not 


IRAN  OR  ANCIENT   PERSIA.  157 

only  spared  the  life  of  Croesus,  but  afterwards 
treated  him  as  a  friend  and  equal. 

Ionia  and  the  other  Grecian  colonies  on  the 
Egean  were  soon  after  subject  to  Cyrus ;  and  on 
his  return  to  Ecbatana,  Harpagus,  who,  through- 
out all  his  campaigns,  had  been  his  chief  adviser, 
was  made  "  Satrap  "  of  Lycia,  as  an  hereditary 
sovereign  of  the  western  parts  of  the  empire,  and 
vassal  of  the  Persian  king.  In  the  British  Mu- 
seum we  still  see  some  important  monuments  of 
ais  dynasty. 

Cyrus  himself  proceeded  with  further  con- 
quests, till  all  the  races  which  then  inhabited 
Afghanistan,  the  upper  valleys  of  the  Indus,  Ka- 
bool,  Peshawr,  and  even  Beloochistan,  acknowl- 
edged the  rule  of  Persia.  A  much  greater  task 
still  remained  to  render  him  master  of  Asia, — the 
overthrow  of  the  Babylonian  monarchy,  founded 
by  Nabopolassar  and  Nebuchadnezzar  on  the 
ruins  of  the  ancient  Assyrian  Empire.  In  the 
year  539  B.C.,  Cyrus,  at  the  head  of  his  army, 
marched  on  Babylon  from  near  Baghdad ;  but 
scarce  had  he  reached  the  Euphrato-Tigris  region 
than  there  occurred  an  incident  which  has  puzzled 
the  historians.  Encamping  near  a  tributary  river, 
the  Gyndes,  Cyrus  employed  his  whole  army  for 
several  months  in  digging  a  system  of  canals  on 
both  banks,  till  all  the  water  was  absolutely 
drained  from  the  channel.  According  to  tradi- 
tion, repeating  perhaps  the  explanation  given  by 
the  Persian  soldiers,  this  was  done  to  punish  the 
river  Gyndes,  because  one  of  the  sacred  white 
Median  horses  had  been  drowned  in  crossing.  "  I 
will  so  weaken  this  insolent  stream,"  said  Cyrus, 
in  revenge,  "  that  even  a  woman  may  cross  it  with- 
out wetting  her  knees."  Some  writers,  however, 


lijg      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF   THE   EAST 

think  that  the  astute  general  had  already  con- 
ceived his  plan  of  taking  the  great  capital,  and 
was  utilizing  the  time  by  drilling  his  troops  in 
the  expert  use  of  the  pickaxe  and  shovel,  since 
these  would  presently  be  needed  for  real  work  on 
the  Euphrates. 

Cyrus  was  delaying  his  attack  upon  Babylon 
till  the  spring-time,  because  every  March,  when 
the  sun  had  reached  the  solstice,  there  was  a 
great  religious  festival  celebrated  by  the  Baby- 
lonians, from  the  highest  to  the  lowest — a  wild 
orgie  of  drunkenness  and  revelry,  such  as  was 
common  in  some  Asiatic  anniversaries.  From 
the  cuneiform  inscriptions,  we  now  know  that  on 
the  i5th  of  the  month  Tammuz,  538  B.C.,  the 
night  of  the  great  religious  festival,  a  detachment 
of  the  Persian  army  entered  Babylon  "without 
fighting,"  after  marching  from  Sippara.  Possibly 
the  easy  entrance  of  the  enemy  into  so  fortified  a 
city  was  assisted  by  treachery  from  within  ;  nor 
do  the  inscriptions  give  any  details  as  to  the 
manner  of  entrance,  or  as  to  how  the  garrison 
were  employed  when  invaded  by  the  dreaded 
Persians.  The  entrance  is  thus  described  by  the 
Greek  historians.  Cyrus  resolved  that,  as  soon 
as  the  night  of  the  Babylonian  orgie  arrived,  he 
would  drain  off  the  waters  of  the  Euphrates  at  a 
certain  place  some  distance  above  the  capital, 
and  then  march  his  Persians  into  the  city  by  the 
channel  of  the  river.  While  a  large  detachment 
were  employed,  above  the  city,  in  hastily  digging 
canals  to  a  great  lake,  which  had  been  dried  up, 
the  rest  of  the  Persian  army  was  posted  close  to 
the  walls,  on  both  banks,  waiting  in  the  darkness 
for  the  ebbing  of  the  river.  These  soldiers  were 
fully  armed,  and  carried  also  torches  to  set  fire 


IRAN   OR   ANCIENT   PERSIA.  159 

to  various  parts  of  Babylon  as  soon  as  an  en- 
trance should  have  been  made.  When  the  "sap- 
pers and  miners  "  opened  their  sluices  higher  up 
the  valley,  the  Euphrates  gradually  became  low- 
er, and  the  Persians  quoted  to  each  other  the 
words  with  which  Cyrus  had  dismissed  them  from 
Sippara, — "  the  river  itself  will  give  a  way  into 
the  town."  Meanwhile  they  listened  to  the  yells 
and  shouts  of  the  Bacchanalian  populace,  which 
reached  their  ears,  notwithstanding  the  great  for- 
tifications. At  last  came  the  signal  for  action  : 
they  gladly  stepped  into  the  shallow  channel  and 
passed  into  the  devoted  city,  through  the  river 
gates  of  bronze,  which  had  been  left  open,  per- 
haps by  secret  arrangement. 

How  had  the  garrison  of  Babylon  been  em- 
ployed meanwhile  ?  The  inscriptions  merely  state 
that  there  was  no  fighting.  From  the  Greek  and 
Jewish  historians  we  know  that  the  capital  was  in 
charge  of  Belshazzar,  the  grandson  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, and  son  of  Nabonidus,  the  last  king  of 
Babylonia.  Nabonidus  was  unpopular  from  his 
neglect  of  the  state  religion,  and  had  escaped  to 
Borsippa  at  the  approach  of  Cyrus.  Belshazzar 
and  his  court,  full  of  contempt  for  the  Persian 
king  and  all  his  army,  had  ordered  the  whole  city 
to  be  plunged  in  wild  and  wanton  festivity,  every 
temple  and  street  and  mansion  to  be  given  up  to 
music,  dancing,  and  drunkenness.  Then  occurred 
the  dramatic  scene  : — 

"  Belshazzar  the  king  made  a  great  feast  to  a  thousand  of 
his  lords,  and  drank  wine  before  the  thousand.  .  .  .  They 
brought  the  golden  vessels  that  were  taken  out  of  the  temple, 
.  .  .  and  the  king  and  his  princes,  his  wives  and  his  concu- 
bines, drank  in  them.  ...  In  the  same  hour  came  forth 
fingers  of  a  man's  hand,  and  wrote  over  against  the  candlestick 


l6o     EXTINCT  CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE   EAST. 

upon  the  plaister  of  the  wall  of  the  king's  palace.  Then  the 
king's  countenance  was  changed,  and  his  thoughts  troubled 
him.  ...  In  that  night  was  Belshazzar,  the  king  of  the 
Chaldeans,  slain." 

Another  sacred  writer  has  also  a  reference  to 
this  passage  in  Persian  history  : — 

"  A  sword  is  upon  the  Chaldeans  and  upon  the  inhabitants 
of  Babylon,  and  upon  her  princes.  ...  A  drought  is  upon 
her  waters,  and  they  shall  be  dried  up.  .  .  .  The  King  of 
Babylon  hath  heard  the  report,  and  his  hands  waxed  feeble : 
anguish  took  hold  of  him.  .  .  .  The  slain  shall  fall  in  the 
land  of  the  Chaldeans,  and  they  that  are  thrust  through  in  her 
streets.  Make  bright  the  arrows,  gather  the  shields  :  the  Lord 
hath  raised  up  the  spirit  of  the  kings  of  the  Medes.  .  .  . 
One  post  shall  run  to  meet  another,  to  shew  the  king  of  Baby- 
lon that  his  city  is  taken  at  one  end,  and  that  the  passages  are 
stopped,  and  the  reeds  they  have  burned  with  fire.  .  .  . 
The  spoiler  is  come  upon  Babylon,  and  her  mighty  men  are 
taken.  And  I  will  make  drunk  her  princes  and  her  wise  men, 
her  captains  and  her  rulers  ;  they  shall  sleep  a  perpetual  sleep, 
and  not  wake.  .  .  .  The  broad  wall  of  Babylon  shall  be 
utterly  broken,  and  her  high  gates  shall  be  burned." 

Belshazzar  was  no  doubt  associated  with  his 
father  in  the  sovereignty ;  and  in  any  case,  being 
left  in  charge  of  the  capital,  he  would  naturally 
be  addressed  as  king  by  the  court  and  the  citi- 
zens. Eight  days  after  the  fall  of  Babylon  and 
death  of  Belshazzar,  Cyrus  arrived  at  the  gates 
to  be  received  as  conqueror  of  Babylonia  and 
master  of  all  Asia. 

A  remarkable  characteristic  of  Cyrus  the 
Great  was  his  tolerance  of  religious  opinions. 
The  inscriptions  call  him  a  worshipper  of  the 
gods  of  Babylon,  no  doubt  because  he  refrained 
from  ordering  their  suppression,  or  perhaps  be- 
cause he  showed  some  respect  "  for  the  magnifi- 
cence of  the  service  of  the  richest  city  of  the 
world,"  and  "  the  vast  antiquity  of  the  rites."  All 


IRAN   OR  ANCIENT   PERSIA.  l6l 

che  countries  tributary  to  Babylon  accepted  the 
Persian  rule  readily,  especially  Syria,  Palestine, 
and  Phoenicia.  The  last  had  already  received 
favours  from  the  Persians  as  being  necessary  for 
naval  purposes.  In  a  previous  chapter,  dealing 
with  the  Hebrews,  who  had  been  so  long  in  cap- 
tivity by  the  "river  of  Babylon,"  we  referred  to 
the  enormous  benefit  which  they  received  from 
Cyrus  as  soon  as  he  had  fixed  his  reign  there, 
and,  in  fact,  for  years  previously  they  looked  to 
the  Great  King  "  as  the  chosen  one  who  was  to 
humble  the  pride  of  Babylon  and  be  the  liberator 
of  the  Chosen  People."  In  the  Book  of  Ezra, 
Cyrus  says: — 

"  Jehovah,  the  God  of  heaven,  hath  given  me  all  the  king- 
doms of  the  earth,  and  charged  me  to  build  him  an  house  at 
Jerusalem,  which  is  in  Judah.  Who  is  there  among  you  of 
all  his  people  ?  his  God  be  with  him,  and  let  him  go  up  to 
Jerusalem,  and  build  the  house  of  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  (he 
is  the  God)  which  is  in  Jerusalem.  And  whosoever  remaineth 
in  any  place,  let  the  men  of  his  place  help  him  with  silver  and 
gold,  and  with  goods  and  beasts  .  .  ." 

The  Jews  were  in  other  ways  assisted  by 
Cyrus.  The  new  governor  appointed  for  Jeru- 
salem was  of  their  race ;  and  the  royal  treasurer, 
Mithradates,  was  commanded  to.  restore  the  sa- 
cred vessels  of  gold  and  silver  (5400  in  number, 
according  to  the  Book  of  Ezra)  which  had  re- 
mained as  trophies  in  Babylon  since  the  destruc- 
tion of  Solomon's  temple  by  Nebuchadnezzar. 
We  have  already  seen  how  imperfectly  this  noble 
plan  of  Cyrus  was  carried  out,  though  it  afforded 
the  Hebrew  race  an  excellent  last  chance  of  re- 
construction as  a  nation  (v.  Chapter  IV.). 

The  recovery  of  the  decree  of  Cyrus  by  Darius, 
at  the  request  of  the  Jews,  forms  an  interesting 


162      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE  EAST. 

passage  in  the  sacred  narrative.  After  searching 
"  in  the  king's  treasure  house  at  Babylon  "  there 
was  found  at  Achmetha  [the  Hebrew  spelling  of 
Ecbatana],  in  the  palace  that  is  in  the  province 
of  the  Medes,  a  roll,  and  therein  was  a  record 
thus  written  : — 

"  In  the  first  year  of  Cyrus  the  king  [i.e.,  first  year  in 
Babylon],  the  same  Cyrus  made  a  decree  concerning  the  house 
of  God  at  Jerusalem.  Let  the  house  be  builded  .  .  .  the 
height  thereof  threescore  cubits,  &c and  let  the  ex- 
penses be  given  out  of  the  king's  house :  and  also  let  the 
golden  and  silver  vessels  which  Nebuchadnezzar  took  forth 
out  of  the  temple  and  brought  to  Babylon  be  restored.  .  .  . 
'  Now,  therefore,'  adds  Darius,  as  a  new  decree, '  let  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  Jews  and  the  elders  of  the  Jews  build  this  house 
of  God  in  his  place,  .  .  .  that  they  may  offer  sacrifices  unto 
the  God  of  heaven,  and  pray  for  the  life  of  the  king  and  of  his 
sons.  ...  I,  Darius,  have  made  a  decree  ;  let  it  be  done  with 
speed.'  " 

The  account  of  the  last  campaign  of  Cyrus, 
the  greatest  of  the  Persians,  has  also  been  col- 
oured by  tradition,  like  the  earlier  chapters  of  his 
life.  After  having  resigned  the  throne  and  retired 
to  the  north  for  religious  meditation,  according  to 
one  Persian  annalist,  he  heard  that  some  Tartar 
or  Mongol  races  had  raided  the  Persian  empire 
near  the  Jaxartes,  and  therefore  marched  to  that 
river,  confident  of  victory  because  the  invaders 
were  led  by  a  woman,  their  queen  Tomyris.  Ac- 
cording to  Herodotus,  Cyrus  laid  the  following 
trap  for  the  Tartar  army,  by  the  advice  of  King 
Croesus,  who  was  his  companion  in  the  expedi- 
tion. He  left  his  camp  almost  undefended,  with 
the  tents  full  of  good  provisions  and  strong  wines, 
and  drew  off  with  nearly  all  his  troops. 

'*  Soon  after,  one-third  of  the  entire  Tartar  army,  led  by 
the  son  of  Queen  Tomyris,  reached  the  camp  and  speedily 


IRAN  OR  ANCIENT   PERSIA.  163 

took  possession.  When  they  had  eaten  and  drunk  their  fill, 
and  were  now  sunk  in  sleep,  the  Persians  under  Cyrus  arrived, 
and  after  slaughtering  a  great  number,  took  even  a  larger 
number  prisoners,  among  whom  was  the  Tartar  prince.  The 
queen  sent  a  herald  to  Cyrus,  calling  him  'bloodthirsty,'  and 
saying,  '  Pride  not  thyself  on  this  poor  success,  .  .  .  restore 
to  me  my  son,  and  go  from  the  land  unharmed,  triumphant 
over  a  third  part  of  our  army.  Refuse,  and  I  swear  by  the 
sun,  the  sovereign  lord  of  the  Massagetae,*  that,  bloodthirsty 
as  thou  art,  I  will  give  thee  thy  fill  of  blood.'  To  this  mes- 
sage Cyrus  paid  no  regard :  and  as  for  the  queen's  son,  when 
the  wine  went  off  he  begged  Cyrus  to  release  him  from  his 
bonds,  and  when  that  was  granted,  he  at  once  destroyed 
himself. 

"  Tomyris  collected  all  the  forces  of  her  kingdom,  and 
gave  Cyrus  battle.  .  .  .  First  the  two  armies  shot  their  arrows, 
and  when  their  quivers  were  empty,  they  closed,  and  fought 
hand  to  hand  with  lances  and  daggers,  till  at  last  the  Massa- 
getse  prevailed,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  Persian  army  were 
destroyed. 

"Cyrus  himself  fell,  and  we  are  further  told  how  Queen 
Tomyris  took  a  skin,  and  filling  it  full  of  human  blood,  dipped 
the  head  of  Cyrus  in  the  gore,  with  the  words :  '  I  live  and 
have  conquered  thee  in  fight,  and  yet  by  thee  am  1  ruined, 
since  thou  tookest  my  son  by  guile  ;  but  thus  I  make  good  my 
threat,  and  give  thee  thy  fill  of  blood.'  " 

Ctesias,  another  Greek  historian,  describes  the 
last  war  of  Cyrus  as  being  on  the  Indian  frontier, 
saying  that  he  was  wounded  during  a  battle,  and 
died  three  days  afterwards,  and  that  the  Persian 
army  renewed  the  struggle,  till  they  had  revenged 
the  death  of  the  u  Great  King"  by  a  complete 
victory,  followed  by  the  submission  of  the  nation 
who  had  rebelled.  In  either  case  it  is  certain  that 
the  body  of  Cyrus  was  finally  conveyed  into  Persia 
proper,  and  buried  at  Pasargadae,  one  of  the  most 
ancient  royal  cities  of  Persis,  the  province  which 
gave  name  to  the  empire. 

*  A  race  of  Turanians,  Turkomans,  or  other  Mongols. 


1 64     EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

Alexander  visted  the  tomb  of  Cyrus,  just  as 
Napoleon  visited  that  of  Frederick  of  Prussia — 
four  soldiers  who  earned  the  title  "Great" — and 
it  is  interesting  to  know,  from  the  Greek  account, 
that,  200  years  after  the  death  of  the  Great  King, 
his  body  was  still  preserved  in  its  coffin  of  gold, 
guarded  by  Magi,  surrounded  by  a  golden  couch, 
a  table  with  dishes,  embroidered  robes,  and  swords 
befitting  a  Persian  prince.  The  inscription,  as 
transcribed  by  the  visitors,  was: — 

"  I  AM  CYRUS,  O  MAN  ! 

WHO  WON  DOMINION  FOR  THE  PERSIANS, 

AND  WAS  KING  OF  ASIA." 

This  will  remind  some  that,  about  200  years 
after  the  time  of  Charles  the  Great,  his  tomb  in 
Aachen,  capital  of  the  empire,  was  opened  by 
Otho  III.,  and  how  the  mighty  dead  was  seen 
sitting  on  a  throne  of  white  marble  wearing  the 
imperial  insignia.  There  were  the  golden  cross, 
the  crown,  sceptre,  globe,  book  of  the  Gospels, 
and  sword,  which  were  afterwards  used  in  the 
consecration  of  the  Emperors  of  Germany,  and 
are  still  preserved  in  Vienna. 

Pasargadae,  the  burial-place  of  Cyrus,  and  scene 
of  his  first  important  victory,  may  possibly  have 
been  the  native  name  of  Persepolis,  as  the  Greeks 
called  it,  afterwards  so  famous  as  capital  of  the 
empire.  In  any  case,  Pasargadse,  "the  treasure- 
city,"  has  been  identified  with  some  ruins  near 
the  site  of  Persepolis.  There  the  empty  tomb 
and  other  parts  of  the  great  mausoleum  of  the 
Persian  conqueror  still  remain,  and  especially 
some  large  pillars  with  the  inscription,  "  I  AM 
KING  CYRUS,  THE  ACH^EMENIAN."  Besides  the 


IRAN   OR   ANCIENT   PERSIA.  165 

monolithic  columns,  there  was  till  recently  a 
winged  figure  of  the  king,  as  if  deified,  sur- 
mounted by  Ormuzd. 

Cyrus  calls  himself  an  Achaemenian,  as  being 
descended  from  Achaemenes,  the  mythical  found- 
er of  the  royal  families  of  the  Medes  and  Persians. 
Hence  the  whole  dynasty  of  the  Persians,  till  over- 
thrown by  Alexander  the  Great,  is  known  as  that 
of  the  Achaemenids,  as  distinguished  from  the  later 
Persian  dynasty,  founded  218  A.D.  by  Babegan, 
and  known  as  the  Sassanids. 

Cambyses,  son  of  Cyrus  the  Great,  had  the 
ambition  of  acquiring  fame  as  a  conqueror  like 
his  father  ;  and  being  master  of  the  three  richest 
capitals  in  the  world,  he  had  ample  resources  to 
meet  the  expense.  Much  preparation  was  made 
to  invade  Egypt,  on  the  pretext  that  that  power 
had  assisted  the  Lydians  in  the  struggle  between 
Cyrus  and  Croesus.  A  fleet  was  procured  from 
the  Phoenicians  and  the  seaports  of  Asia  Minor, 
and  an  alliance  was  made  with  the  Arabians  to 
secure  the  road  across  the  desert.  Thus,  in  his 
fourth  year,  525  B.C.,  Cambyses  met  the  Pharaoh 
at  Pelusium,  on  the  east  of  the  Delta,  the  ancient 
"  gateway  of  Misraim,"  and  completely  routed  the 
Egyptians.  Herodotus  found  the  bones  of  the 
combatants  still  left  on  the  battlefield  in  the  fol- 
lowing century,  and  tells  his  readers  that  the 
Persian  skulls  were  of  remarkable  thinness  as 
compared  with  those  of  the  Egyptians,  because 
the  latter  people  "  from  early  childhood  have  the 
head  shaved,  and  so,  by  the  action  of  the  sun,  their 
skulls  become  thick  and  hard."  Cambyses  sent 
a  Persian  herald  up  the  river  to  Memphis  to  offer 
terms,  but  the  citizens  destroyed  the  ship,  and 
cut  all  on  board  to  pieces.  This  savage  piece 


1 66     EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE  EAST. 

of  revenge  only  hastened  the  siege  of  the  capital, 
which  soon  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Persians. 
Then,  with  barbarous  severity,  Cambyses  exacted 
a  punishment  for  the  death  of  the  herald  and  his 
companions  such  as  Herodotus  loves  to  detail. 
Two  of  the  items  were — first,  that  the  Pharaoh's 
daughter,  accompanied  by  the  maiden  daughters 
of  the  chief  Egyptian  nobles,  should  be  clad  as 
slaves,  and  fetch  water  before  the  eyes  of  their 
fathers  ;  and,  secondly,  that  the  Pharaoh's  son, 
accompanied  by  2000  Egyptians  of  the  same  age, 
with  ropes  round  their  necks,  and  bridles  in  their 
mouths,  should  walk  in  procession  to  a  place  of 
execution,  in  order  to  be  cut  to  pieces  as  the 
Persian  herald  had  been. 

At  Sais,  Cambyses  exhibited  further  gross  bar- 
barity by  outraging  the  mummied  corpse  of 
Amasis,  the  previous  Pharaoh,  on  account  of  his 
having  insulted  the  Persian  monarchy.  The  frag- 
ments of  the  mummy  were  thrown  into  the  fire — 
an  act  of  impiety,  as  Herodotus  points  out,  to  the 
Persians  no  less  than  to  the  Egyptians.  The 
former  people  thought  that,  fire  being  the  purest 
of  the  elements,  the  express  symbol  of  deity,  it 
was  unpardonably  wicked  to  feed  it  with  any 
dead  thing,  and  especially  a  corpse  ;  while  the 
Egyptians,  from  their  notion  of  resurrection, 
make  it  an  article  of  faith  to  preserve  every 
human  body  with  the  greatest  care. 

In  his  government  of  Egypt,  Cambyses  tried 
for  a  time  to  gain  the  favour  of  its  priests  by 
patronizing  the  native  cult,  and  obtaining  instruc- 
tion in  their  rites  and  ceremonies.  From  a  statue 
preserved  in  the  Vatican,  we  learn  that,  after 
being  initiated  into  the  mysteries  of  the  gods  of 
Said,  he  restored  the  worship  there  in  full  splen- 


IRAN  OR  ANCIENT    PERSIA.  167 

dour.  An  ill-advised  expedition  against  Ethiopia 
was  the  beginning  of  the  end  of  his  domination 
over  Egypt.  Starting  up  the  Nile  Valley  with  a 
very  large  army,  he  detached  50,000  men  on 
reaching  Thebes,  the  southern  capital,  and  or- 
dered them  to  cross  the  desert  towards  the  oasis 
of  Ammon,  defeat  the  king  of  the  place,  who  had 
refused  to  acknowledge  the  Persian  sovereignty, 
and  burn  the  famous  temple.  With  the  main  part 
of  the  army  Cambyses  continued  his  southern 
march,  till  he  reached  a  bend  of  the  Nile  where 
there  was  a  caravan  route  more  direct  than  the 
course  of  the  river.  This  road  tempted  the  rash 
king,  who,  from  lack  of  ordinary  foresight,  im- 
agined an  army  could  march  where  camels  had 
gone  and  come.  The  African  desert  was  new  to 
the  Persians,  and  immense  plains  of  sand,  without 
forage,  water,  or  resources  of  any  kind,  reduced 
the  powerful  army  to  such  famine  and  despair, 
that  many  soldiers  are  said  to  have  killed  their 
own  comrades  in  order  to  eat  flesh  and  drink 
blood.  Cambyses  never  reached  Ethiopia.  As 
for  the  army  which  he  had  sent  to  destroy  the 
city  and  temple  of  Ammon,  no  man  ever  heard  of 
it  again.  The  people  of  the  oasis  afterwards 
spoke  of  a  southern  wind,  and  most  probably  a 
simoon  of  the  desert  had  come  upon  the  Persian 
invaders,  and  buried  them  under  hills  of  sand. 

The  double  disaster  and  disgrace  had  such  an 
effect  on  the  unregulated  mind  of  Cambyses  that 
he  seems  to  have  actually  become  mad,  and  was, 
at  least,  subject  to  fits  of  epilepsy.  Hurrying 
back,  he  found,  when  he  reached  Memphis,  that 
the  whole  population  were  holding  festival  be- 
cause Apis,  the  god,  had  just  manifested  himself 
in  a  new  steer,  consecrated  by  the  priests.  Rag- 


1 68      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE  EAST. 

ing  like  a  demon,  Cambyses  ordered  the  magis- 
trates to  be  brought  before  him,  and  condemned 
them  to  death ;  then,  after  ordering  the  priests  to 
be  beaten  with  rods,  and  the  worshippers  of  Apis 
to  be  massacred  by  his  soldiers,  he  had  the  sacred 
animal  brought  into  his  presence.  Raising  a 
sword,  he  inflicted  a  mortal  wound  on  the  inno- 
cent brute,  to  the  horror  of  the  whole  native 
population.  The  actual  epitaph  written  on  the 
god  was  found  by  Mariette,  the  distinguished 
Egyptologist,  and  is  still  to  be  read  in  the  Louvre. 
In  his  frenzied  state  of  mind  Cambyses  was  fre- 
quently as  unjust  and  cruel  to  the  Persians  as  to 
the  Egyptians.  Twelve  of  his  courtiers  having 
on  one  occasion  offended  him,  he  ordered  them 
to  be  buried  alive  in  pits  with  their  heads  above 
ground.  On  another  occasion,  when  in  his  palace, 
he  seized  a  bow  and  shot  a  boy  who  stood  in  the 
outer  chamber  to  the  heart,  asking  the  father,  a 
noble  courtier  who  stood  beside  the  throne,  "  Have 
you  ever  seen  mortal  man  shoot  an  arrow  with 
better  aim  ?  You  see  it  is  not  I  who  am  mad,  but 
the  Persians  who  have  lost  their  senses."  The 
father  (called  Prexasp^s,  according  to  Herodotus) 
saw  that  the  king  was  not  in  his  right  mind,  and, 
being  afraid  of  his  own  life,  simply  said,  "  I  did 
not  think,  sire,  that  any  but  Ormuzd  himself  could 
shoot  with  such  skill." 

Soon  after,  news  came  from  the  East  that  his 
brother  Smerdis  had  seized  the  crown,  and  that 
all  Persia  had  acknowledged  him.  Cambyses 
knew  that  this  must  be  a  usurper,  since  the  real 
Smerdis  had  already  been  secretly  put  to  death, 
and  therefore  prepared  in  hot  haste  and  indigna- 
tion to  leave  Egypt.  When  mounting  on  horse- 
back he  wounded  himself  seriously  with  his  sword, 


IRAN   OR  ANCIENT   PERSIA.  169 

but  refused  to  rest  ;  and,  like  Edward  Long- 
shanks,  in  his  last  vindictive  expedition  against 
the  revolted  Scots,  insisted  on  being  carried  in  a 
litter.  The  fatigue  of  such  a  journey  increased 
his  illness,  and  the  tyrant  found  a  premature  and 
unhappy  death  in  a  poor  Syrian  village,  where  he 
apparently  put  an  end  to  himself. 

Meanwhile  a  short  revolution  had  taken  place 
in  Persia :  the  Magi,  whom  Cyrus  and  Cambyses 
had  favoured,  wished  to  restore  the  preponder- 
ance of  power  to  Media,  and  also  to  make  the 
Magian  form  of  Zoroaster's  religion  again  su- 
preme over  the  purer  form  which  was  cultivated  in 
South  Persia.  Two  Magi,  in  particular,  brothers, 
had  fomented  this  change;  and  as  one  of  them, 
called  Gomates,  or  Gaumata,  resembled  Smerdis, 
he  took  advantage  of  the  absence  of  Cambyses 
to  assume  the  crown,  under  the  name  of  Smerdis, 
son  of  Cyrus.  Seven  of  the  leading  Persians  at 
once  united  to  quash  this  Median  revolution,  by 
putting  forward  one  of  their  number  as  the  true 
heir  to  the  Achaemenian  throne.  This  heir  was 
Darius,  son  of  Hystaspes,  undoubtedly  of  the 
family  of  Cyrus,  and  already  popular  as  a  prince 
of  brilliant  promise.  The  false  Smerdis  was  killed 
in  defending  a  fortress  near  Ecbatana ;  and  soon 
after,  all  the  Magi  found  in  the  capital  being  put 
to  the  sword,  a  festival  was  instituted  in  celebra- 
tion of  the  national  deliverance,  and  of  the  res- 
toration of  true  Parsee  worship.  This  account 
of  the  accession  of  Darius  Hystaspes,  521  B.C., 
has  been  singularly  confirmed  by  the  discovery 
of  a  very  famous  rock  inscription — one  of  the 
most  interesting  which  have  been  left  from  re- 
mote antiquity.  This  record  is  "  the  rock  of  Be- 
histoon,"  near  the  caravan  route  between  Bagh- 


170      EXTINCT  CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE  EAST. 

dad  and  Hamadan,  a  hill  which  rises  to  a  height 
of  1700  feet.  On  the  limestone  surface  of  one 
perpendicular  face  of  this  rock,  the  largest  page 
of  history  known,  are  engraved  five  extensive 
columns,  in  Persian,  Median,  and  Babylonian, — 
the  whole  of  them  being  in  cuneiform  characters, — 
giving  the  genealogy  of  Darius  up  to  Achaemenes, 
the  provinces  of  the  Persian  Empire,  and  the 
victories  gained  by  the  "  Great  King"  between 
521-518  B.C.  On  the  upper  part  of  rock  is  sculp- 
tured a  large  group — Darius  himself,  with  a  bow 
in  his  hand  and  his  foot  upon  the  prostra'te  figure 
of  Smerdis,  while  nine  rebels,  chained  together  by 
the  neck,  stand  before  him,  and  two  of  his  own 
captains  behind  him.  Above  the  group  hovers 
the  symbolical  image  of  Ormuzd.  Every  para- 
graph of  this  huge  inscription  mentions  Darius  as 
the  author,  as  a  guarantee  of  its  accuracy.  A 
few  extracts  from  this  unequalled  record  may  be 
given  : — 

"  When  Cambyses  had  gone  to  Egypt,  the  state  became 
heretical — falsehood  abounding  in  the  land,  both  in  Persia  and 
Media,  and  in  the  other  provinces.  .  .  .  The  crown  or  empire 
of  which  Gomates  dispossessed  Cambyses,  that  crown  had  been 
in  our  family  from  the  ancient  times.  .  .  .  The  state  feared  to 
resist  him  [Gomates,  the  Magian].  There  was  not  any  one 
bold  enough  to  oppose  him  till  I  came.  Then  I  remained  in 
the  worship  of  Ormuzd  ;  Ormuzd  brought  help  to  me,  ...  in 
the  district  of  Media,  named  Nisara,  there  I  slew  him  [Go- 
mates].  I  dispossessed  him  of  the  empire.  By  the  grace  of 
Ormuzd  I  became  king  :  Ormuzd  granted  me  the  sceptre. 
.  .  .  The  crown  that  had  been  wrested  from  our  race,  that  I 
recovered.  .  .  .  The  rites  that  Gomates,  the  Magian,  had  in- 
troduced I  prohibited.  I  reinstituted  for  the  state  the  sacred 
chants  and  worship." 

The  inscription  gives  some  detail  of  a  rebel- 
lion in  Babylonia  against  Darius : — 


IRAN   OR  ANCIENT   PERSIA.  171 

"  A  Babylonian,  named  Natitabirus,  calling  himself  Ne- 
buchadnezzar, was  the  leader.  ...  I  marched  to  Babylon. 
The  forces  of  Natitabirus  held  the  Tigris  with  boats.  I  placed 
a  detachment  on  rafts  and  assaulted  the  enemy's  position.  Or- 
muzd  brought  me  help  :  by  the  grace  of  Ormuzd  I  succeeded 
in  passing  the  Tigris.  .  .  .  Near  Babylon  we  fought  a  battle. 
...  I  entirely  defeated  the  forces  of  Natitabirus,  .  .  .  then  I 
marched  to  Babylon.  I  took  Babylon,  and,  seizing  Natita- 
birus, slew  him." 

Such  a  record  would  have  been  too  terse  and 
compressed  for  the  Greek  historians,  who,  in  giv- 
ing details  of  the  great  preparations  made  against 
the  Persians  by  the  Babylonians,  tell  how  they 
put  their  women  to  death,  and  how,  in  the  twen- 
tieth month  of  the  siege,  Zopyrus,  an  officer  of 
Darius,  contrived  the  following  stratagem  for 
taking  the  capital. 

Pretending  to  have  been  a  victim  of  Persian 
cruelty,  Zopyrus  showed  himself  to  the  Babylo- 
nian sentries  with  his  nose  and  ears  cut  off,  as  if 
wishing  to  desert  to  their  side  on  account  of  the 
treatment  which  such  mutilation  seemed  to  verify. 
Presented  to  Nebuchadnezzar  as  an  able  officer, 
who  was  now  keenly  revengeful  against  the 
Persians,  he  was  presently  put  in  command  of 
some  soldiers,  and  making  a  brave  sally  beyond 
the  walls,  cut  in  pieces  a  body  of  1000  troops  of 
the  besiegers,  placed  there  purposely  by  Darius. 
In  succeeding  engagements  he  had  still  greater 
success;  till  at  last  he  was  entrusted  with  the 
charge  of  the  fortifications.  The  plot  was  now 
matured  by  communication  with  the  besiegers, 
and  on  an  appointed  day,  when  Darius  approached 
close  to  the  walls  with  all  his  forces,  Zopyrus 
opened  two  gates,  and  gave  the  enemy  command 
of  the  city.  Thus  Babylon  was  for  the  second 
time  taken  by  the  Persians.  Darius  ordered  3000 


172      EXTINCT  CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE   EAST. 

of  the  leading  citizens  to  be  crucified.  To  reward 
the  success  of  his  treacherous  act,  Zopyrus  was 
made  governor  of  Babylon,  with  personal  com- 
mand of  its  revenues  for  life. 

The  inscription  on  the  Behistun  rock  men- 
tions several  rebellions  in  Susiana,  Media,  As- 
syria, Armenia,  Parthia,  &c.,  which  occurred 
whilst  Darius  was  delayed  with  his  great  army 
before  Babylon.  We  have  some  details  of  the 
engagements  by  which  his  generals  put  down 
those  risings;  but  after  the  siege  he  naturally 
had  less  trouble.  One  passage  on  the  rock 
reads : — 

"  I  departed  from  Babylon :  when  I  reached  Media,  there 
Phraortes,  who  was  called  King  of  Media,  came  before  me 
with  an  army :  we  joined  battle,  and  by  the  grace  of  Ormuzd, 
I  entirely  defeated  the  forces  of  Phraortes.  .  .  .  Afterwards  I 
sent  forces  in  pursuit,  by  whom  Phraortes  was  taken  and 
brought  before  me.  I  cut  off  his  nose  and  ears  and  his  lips. 
He  was  held  chained  at  my  door  ;  all  the  kingdom  beheld 
him.  Afterwards,  at  Ecbatana,  there  I  had  him  crucified  ; 
and  the  men  that  were  his  chief  followers  at  Ecbatana,  in  the 
citadel  I  imprisoned  them." 

Another  rebel  in  Media,  Kamaspates,  was 
punished  exactly  in  the  same  way  as  Phraortes. 
Perhaps  the  details  were  assigned  by  law ;  and 
should  any  modern  reader  exclaim  against  the 
barbarity  of  such  mutilation  before  the  final  exe- 
cution, it  is  enough  perhaps  to  remind  him  that, 
from  the  time  of  Edward  I.  to  the  beginning  of 
the  present  century,  "hanging,"  then  "  drawing," 
then  "quartering,"  were  severally  endured  by 
every  condemned  traitor.  One  might  further  ask 
what  was  the  punishment  inflicted  upon  Damiens. 
for  having  slightly  scratched  with  a  pocket  knife 
the  skin  of  His  Most  Christian  Majesty  Louis  XV. 
The  modern  Persians  are  called  the  Parisians  ot 


IRAN   OR  ANCIENT   PERSIA.  173 

the  East,  but  the  barbarity  of  the  ancient  King 
of  Iran  is  far  surpassed  in  refinement  of  cruelty 
by  that  then  shown  in  modern  Europe. 

Among  other  wars  which  have  first  been  made 
known  to  us  by  the  rock  inscription  of  Darius 
was  one  on  the  north-east  frontier  by  the  Par- 
thians  and  Hyrcanians,  and  another  in  Persia 
itself.  Herodotus  gives  a  singular  instance  of 
astute  policy  on  the  part  of  the  Great  King 
which  also  illustrates  the  absolute  readiness  of 
obedience  then  due  to  an  Eastern  despot  by  his 
subjects,  however  remote.  Oraetes,  the  satrap  of 
Lydia,  in  the  distant  West,  was  suspected  of  aim- 
ing at  independence,  but  during  the  revolts  of 
which  the  rock  inscription  tells  us,  could  not  be 
punished  openly  by  sending  an  army.  Oraetes, 
moreover,  .had  committed  many  daring  crimes, 
such  as  executing  an  envoy  bearing  commands 
from  Darius.  In  a  confidential  council  the  king 
broached  his  plan  of  dealing  with  Oraetes,  after 
explaining  that  force  is  misplaced  where  tact  is 
needed.  Out  of  thirty  who  volunteered  to  do 
the  king's  bidding,  the  lot  fell  on  Bagaeus,  who 
started  for  Sardis  provided  with  a  number  of 
letters  written  to  his  dictation,  and  sealed  with 
the  royal  signet.  On  his  arrival  he  was  intro- 
duced to  Oraetes,  surrounded  by  the  bodyguard  ; 
and  then,  by  getting  the  royal  secretary  to  read 
the  letters  in  a  certain  order,  Bagaeus  had  a 
means  of  testing  the  loyalty  of  the  soldiers 
present:  first  he  chose  a  letter  containing  the 
words,  "Persians,  King  Darius  forbids  you 
to  guard  Oraetes."  Immediately  every  soldier 
laid  aside  his  spear.  Then,  in  a  second  letter, 
at  the  phrase,  "  King  Darius  commands  the 
Persians  in  Sardis  to  kill  Oraetes,"  the  guards 


174     EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

drew  their  swords  and  slew  the  usurper  on  the 
spot. 

Darius  had  an  ambition  to  conquer  Europe,  as 
Cyrus  had  subdued  Asia  and  Cambyses  Africa; 
but  the  Scythians  and  other  warlike  races  there 
were  more  powerful  than  any  barbaric  tribes 
whom  the  Persians  had  already  encountered. 
There  were  numerous  peoples,  whose  half-savage 
habits  are  described  by  contemporary  historians, 
including  the  Getae  in  modern  Bulgaria,  the 
Sauromatae  ("  men  of  the  north  ")  to  the  west 
of  the  Caspian  ;  and,  between  the  Don  and  Volga, 
the  Budini  (^iMVf  Wodini),  "  a  numerous  race,  with 
blue  eyes  and  red  hair,"  according  to  Herodotus. 
The  last  were  celebrated  for  their  religious  rites, 
and  lived  by  herding  and  farming ;  and  some 
ethnologists  find  them  to  be  the  ancestors  of  the 
Norse  race,  who  afterwards  settled  in  Scandinavia, 
and  in  due  time  had  a  good  share  in  making  up 
the  early  English  and  Scottish  population.  The 
name  of  this  Aryan  race  suggests  Woden  or  Odin, 
the  great  god  of  our  forefathers.  Other  races 
then  in  the  south  of  modern  Russia  were  Tura- 
nian or  Mongolian. 

Having  crossed  the  Bosphorus  by  a  bridge  of 
boats,  Darius  and  his  Persians  overran  Thrace, 
conquered  the  Getae,  and  then  passed  to  the  left 
bank  of  the  Danube.  The  bridge  for  this  pur- 
pose had  meanwhile  been  built  by  a  large  body 
of  Ionian  Greeks  whom  Darius  had  sent  north 
from  the  Bosphorus  in  a  fleet.  The  Scythians, 
Budini,  and  all  the  other  nations  retired  before 
the  van  of  Darius's  mighty  army,  but  were  pur- 
sued, we  are  told,  as  far  as  the  Don.  Weakened 
and  reduced  by  marching  and  counter-marching, 
Darius,  when  near  the  Dnieper,  sent  a  challenge 


IRAN  OR  ANCIENT   PERSIA.  175 

to  the  Scythian  king,  who  commanded  the  mon- 
grel and  half-savage  army.  The  wary  chieftain 
answered — "  We  shall  not  join  battle  with  you  till 
it  pleases  us;  as  for  lords  or  superiors,  I  ac- 
knowledge none,  except  the  king  of  heaven  and 
Vesta,  the  Scythian  goddess."  Instead  of  send- 
ing earth  and  water  as  a  tribute  of  submission, 
which  Darius  had  asked,  the  allied  tribes  sent  him 
"a  bird,  a  mouse,  a  frog,  and  five  arrows."  The 
Persians,  holding  a  council  of  war,  were  puzzled, 
says  Herodotus,  as  to  what  these  four  things 
mi'ght  mean :  the  most  probable  interpretation 
being,  "  Turn  yourselves  into  birds  to  fly  into  the 
sky,  or  mice  to  burrow  underground,  or  frogs  to 
take  refuge  in  the  fens,  else  ye  must  die  of  our 
arrows." 

After  further  delay,  Darius,  who  had  heard  of 
the  terrible  rigour  of  winter  in  those  countries, 
suddenly  retreated  upon  the  Danube,  especially 
as  there  had  been  some  danger  of  the  bridge 
being  cut  down  by  the  Scythians.  Decamping  by 
night,  the  great  army  abandoned  tents,  baggage, 
and  thousands  of  sick  soldiers,  while  the  enemy 
eagerly  pursued  them  and  destroyed  most  of  the 
infantry.  Darius  crossed  the  bridge  over  the 
Danube,  and  ordered  it  to  be  immediately  de- 
stroyed, as  though  the  lives  of  all  the  Persians  on 
the  left  bank  were  of  no  account  when  compared 
to  his.  This  disgraceful  retreat  from  Southern 
Russia  is  comparable  to  that  of  Napoleon  from 
Northern  Russia,  and  the  destruction  of  the  bridge 
resembles  that  ordered  after  Napoleon's  great 
defeat  in  the  Battle  of  Leipsic. 

Another  more  successful  expedition  of  the 
Persian  King  was  to  the  valley  of  the  Upper 
Indus.  With  wood  cut  in  Cashmere  he  built  a 


176     EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF   THE   EAST. 

fleet  on  the  Indus,  which,  under  Scylax,  a  Greek 
admiral,  sailed  down  to  the  Indian  Ocean,  and, 
after  a  voyage  of  three  months,  reached  the 
mouth  of  the  Red  Sea.  Thus  the  Persian  Em- 
pire was  extended  to  the  Indus  and  the  Indian 
Ocean,  though  the  Punjaub  was  still  to  remain 
unexplored  till  the  conquests  of  Alexander  the 
Great. 

Trusting  to  his  unlimited  resources  of  money 
and  men,  Darius  planned  another  European  in- 
vasion. His  chief  adviser  on  this  occasion  was 
Mardonius,  a  man  of  great  political  talent  and 
ambition,  though  no  general,  as  was  proved  in 
the  following  reign.  An  enormous  army,  though 
probably  smaller  than  the  Greek  historians  say, 
was  despatched  under  command  of  Datis  and 
Artaphernes,  and  landed  on  the  eastern  coast  of 
Greece  at  a  narrow  plain,  six  miles  long,  hemmed 
in  between  the  seashore  and  a  range  of  hills. 

"  The  mountains  look  on  Marathon, 
And  Marathon  looks  on  the  sea," 

as  everybody  quotes,  when  referring  to  the  fight, 
— one  of  the  "  decisive  battles  of  the  world."  Its 
details  properly  belong  to  the  ancient  history  of 
Athens.  The  Greeks  (men  of  Athens  and  Pla- 
taea)  were  drawn  up  in  line  along  the  base  of  the 
hills  under  the  command  of  Miltiades,  while  the 
invading  army,  with  their  numerous  companies, 
were  crowding  the  beach  in  front  of  their  fleet. 
Before  the  Persians  had  properly  taken  up  posi- 
tion for  attack  or  defence,  the  smaller  army  of 
their  opponents  charged  them  with  enthusiasm, 
and  speedily  threw  them  into  confusion  and  ruin. 
The  Greek  spear  at  Marathon,  like  the  Scottish 
spear  at  Bannockburn,  was  irresistible  because 


IRAN  OR  ANCIENT   PERSIA.  177 

urged  against  injustice  and  tyranny,  urged  with 
keen  and  united  purpose.  Over  6000  Persians 
fell,  and  only  192  of  the  Greeks.  In  the  mound 
-of  earth  raised  over  the  remains  of  the  latter  by 
their  countrymen*  a  quantity  of  burnt  bones  was 
found  in  1890,  with  some  vases  belonging  to  the 
fifth  century  B.C. 

During  the  last  five  years  of  his  reign,  Darius 
did  much  to  consolidate  and  improve  his  great 
empire.  Besides  reform  in  legislation  and  the 
state  religion,  he  patronized  literature  and  art.  A 
main  object  in  his  administration  was  to  properly 
organize  by  "  satraps  "  the  government  of  all  dis- 
tant parts  of  the  empire.  The  palaces  and  tombs 
of  the  Persians  supply  evidence  of  their  architec- 
tural taste  and  skill.  One  palace  was  in  Ecba- 
tana,  already  described,  another  at  Susa,  where 
Cyrus  for  a  time  resided,  but  the  most  famous 
was  at  Persepolis,  the  great  capital  of  Darius. 
This  palace,  near  the  city,  was  built  on  a  vast 
platform,  which  consists  of  great  masses  of  hewn 
stone,  some  of  enormous  dimensions — e.g.,  49  to 
55  feet  long.  The  length  of  this  solid  base  is 
1500  feet,  and  its  greatest  breadth  950  feet.  On 
it  are  the  ruins  of  various  colossal  structures, 
built  of  dark-grey  marble,  in  excellent  masonry, 
with  lofty  palaces,  colonnades,  and  vestibules,  all 
of  an  imposing  style  and  design.  The  huge  pillars 
are  especially  striking,  and  we  are  told  that  "  no 
traveller  can  escape  the  spell  of  these  majestic 
ruins."  Some  of  the  staircases  admit  of  horses 
easily  going  up  or  down,  and  one  admits  of  ten 
horsemen  ascending  each  flight  abreast.  Another 
is  admired  from  its  sculptures — lions,  bulls,  and 
colossal  Persian  guardsmen.  Several  grand  gate- 
ways also  remain  on  the  platform,  some  flanked 


178      EXTINCT  CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

with  colossal  bulls,  which  in  some  cases  exactly 
resemble  those  of  the  Assyrian  excavations,  with 
wings  and  human  heads.  The  "  Great  Pillared 
Halls  "  are  pronounced  to  be  the  chief  glory  of 
the  palace.  The  grey  marble  columns  measure 
72  feet  in  height,  and  are  nearly  6  feet  in  diam- 
eter :  their  slender  and  graceful  appearance  dis- 
tinguishes them  from  the  Egyptian  pillars,  while 
in  many  details  they  also  differ  from  the  Greek 
orders. 

The  rock  tombs  of  the  Persian  monarchs  rival 
their  palaces  in  beauty  and  style.  That  of  Darius 
has  often  been  figured :  an  excavation  in  the  side 
of  a  lofty  rock,  the  whole  of  the  front  being 
sculptured,  and  divided  by  horizontal  lines  into 
three  compartments  of  the  same  height.  In  the 
highest  Darius  himself  is  shown  with  the  altar  of 
fire  before  him,  and  the  symbolical  figure  of  Or- 
muzd  hovering  above.  Both  king  and  altar  rest 
on  a  platform  supported  by  twenty-eight  human 
figures  in  a  double  row.  The  middle  part  of  the 
tomb  contains  a  door  and  four  beautifully  carved 
pillars.  Here  was  Darius,  "  the  Great  King," 
entombed,  486  B.C.,  in  the  sixty-third  year  of  his 
age  and  thirty-sixth  of  his  reign. 

Xerxes  was  the  son  of  Darius  I.,  and  also  the 
grandson  of  Cyrus  the  Great,  whose  daughter 
Darius  had  married.  He  was,  therefore,  doubly 
acceptable  to  the  Persians  as  ruler  of  the  empire, 
but  soon  proved  that  he  had  inherited  no  capacity 
for  ruling.  Mardonius  was  still  ambitious  of  the 
conquest  of  Greece,  hoping  to  be  created  satrap 
of  that  country  when  converted  into  a  province. 
Xerxes  resolved  to  ensure  success  by  the  size  of 
his  armament,  and  the  preparations  for  invading 
the  small  republics  are  said  to  have  occupied  four 


IRAN   OR  ANCIENT   PERSIA.  179 

years.  The  fleet  numbered  over  1200  triremes 
and  3000  smaller  vessels,  supplied  by  Phoenicia 
and  Egypt.  Great  stores  of  provisions  were  col- 
lected at  different  points  between  Cappadocia  and 
Greece,  and  a  bridge  thrown  across  the  Helles- 
pont.. The  number  of  persons  altogether  engaged 
in  this  expedition  was  reckoned  at  five  millions; 
but  even  were  that  an  exaggeration,  his  army  was 
probably  the  largest  ever  assembled.  Such  a  host 
covered  the  country  along  Macedonia  and  Greece 
like  a  deluge,  and  though  the  Greeks  inflicted 
partial  checks  at  Thermopylae,  Artemisium,  &c., 
Xerxes  was  scarcely  aware  of  the  fact.  Athens 
was  taken  by  the  Persians,  480  B.C.,  the  Acropolis 
burnt,  and  the  whole  of  Attica  occupied.  On  23d 
September,  at  daybreak,  Xerxes  ascended  a  rocky 
promontory,  and  sat  on  a  golden  throne,  to  re- 
view his  fleet  of  1000  ships,  and  gaze  with  com- 
placency upon  the  approaching  victory  over  the 
obstinate  Greeks  at  a  short  distance  west  of  their 
burnt  capital.  The  result  of  this  sea  battle  showed 
him,  however,  that  seamanship  and  courage  will 
prevail  against  heavy  odds:  most  of  the  Persian 
fleet  became  a  seething  mass  of  confusion  and 
horror.  The  huge  expedition  of  Xerxes  was 
utterly  overthrown. 

The  familiar  eight-syllable  lines  must  ever  re- 
cur as  we  mentally  recall  this  scene, — 

"  A  king  sat  on  the  rocky  brow 

Which  looks  o'er  sea-born  Salamis, 
And  men  by  nations  lay  below, 

And  ships  by  thousands — all  were  his. 
He  counted  them  at  break  of  day, 
And  when  the  sun  set,  where  were  they  ?  " 

In  greater  shame  and  disgrace  than  Darius,  he 
hurried  back  by  land  to  the  Hellespont,  leaving 


l8o      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE  EAST. 

Mardonius,  with  an  army  of  260,000,  in  Thessaly, 
to  prevent  pursuit,  and  renew  the  invasion  of 
Greece  next  year.  The  consciousness  of  wretched 
failure  clung  to  Xerxes  as  he  urged  that  ambitious 
officer  to  punish  Athens  and  her  sister  States. 
The  whole  of  the  Grecian  race,  however,  were 
now  united  in  patriotic  fervour,  and  on  the  plains 
of  Plataea,  where  the  conflict  took  place,  the 
300,000  invaders  were  utterly  defeated,  and  Mar- 
donius himself  slain.  A  sea  fight  at  Mycale,  on 
the  coast  of  Asia  Minor,  on  the  same  day  as  the 
battle  of  Platsea,  also  brought  victory  and  renown 
to  the  Greeks.  The  Great  King,  a  few  days  later, 
lost  Abydos  on  the  Hellespont,  and  after  that 
defeat,  could  no  longer  boast  of  any  European 
possessions.  The  magnitude  of  the  expeditions 
against  Greece  must  have  seriously  tried  even  the 
resources  of  Persia  and  all  her  wealthy  capitals, 
and  for  the  few  remaining  years  Xerxes  seems  to 
have  lived  in  Persepolis,  surrounded  by  the  lux- 
urious state  of  an  Eastern  despot. 

An  interesting  point  connected  with  the  close 
of  the  reign  of  Xerxes  is  that  the  romantic  scenes 
described  in  the  Book  of  Esther  and  the  Apoc- 
rypha are  attributed  to  this  time.  The  Hebrew 
spelling  of  "  Ahasuerus,"  and  the  Persian  form 
of  the  Greek  word  "  Xerxes,"  are  similar  ;  and 
Esther,  the  fair  Jewess,  had,  we  are  told,  the 
name  "  Hadassah,"  which  may  have  been  Persian, 
since  the  mother  of  Xerxes  was  called  "  Atossah  " 
— i.e.,  Hadossah.  The  Old  Testament  tells  us 
that 

"  '  Ahasuerus  reigned  from  India  even  unto  Ethiopia,  .  .  . 
he  made  a  feast  unto  all  his  princes  and  his  servants,  the  power 
of  Persia  and  Media,  the  nobles  and  princes  of  the  provinces.' 
Afterwards  a  lesser  feast  '  in  the  court  of  the  garden  of  the 


IRAN   OR   ANCIENT   PERSIA.  181 

king's  palace  where  were  white,  green,  and  blue  hangings  fas- 
tened with  cords  of  fine  linen  and  purple  to  silver  rings  and 
pillars  of  marble  :  the  beds  gold  and  silver,  upon  a  pavement 
of  red,  and  blue,  and  white,  and  black  marble.  And  they 
gave  drink  in  vessels  of  gold,  and  royal  wine  in  abundance/ 
On  the  issuing  of  the  edict  by  Xerxes  in  favour  of  the  Jews, 
'  it  was  written  to  the  lieutenants  and  the  deputies  and  rulers 
of  the  provinces  which  are  from  India  unto  Ethiopia,  an  hun- 
dred twenty  and  seven  provinces,  unto  every  province  accord- 
ing to  the  writing  thereof,  and  unto  every  people  after  their 
language,  .  .  .  and  sent  letters  by  post  on  horseback,  and 
riders  on  mules,  camels,  and  young  dromedaries.' " 

Such  details  and  others  in  the  narrative  are 
quite  descriptive  of  the  luxurious  court  of  Xerxes, 
when  held  in  the  stately  halls  of  his  capital,  Per- 
sepolis,  since  the  plan  of  the  palace  at  Susa  was, 
according  to  Professor  G.  Rawlinson,  identical 
with  that  at  the  greater  capital.  Moreover,  the 
arbitrary  treatment  of  Queen  Vashti,  for  her 
womanly  reserve,  and  the  dramatic  judgment 
passed  upon  his  prime  minister  Haman,  exactly 
suit  the  character  of  the  Persian  despot  who  or- 
dered the  unruly  sea  to  be  scourged,  just  as  a  boy 
punishes  his  senseless  hoop  or  top.  From  our  re- 
motest savage  ancestors  we  inherit  some  trace  of 
the  belief  that  every  stone,  fountain,  or  tree  has 
in  it  a  soul  or  spirit.  After  raising  Esther  and 
the  Jews  to  honour,  Xerxes  lost  his  popularity, 
and  was  finally  assassinated,  like  some  of  the 
Roman  emperors  of  a  later  age,  by  an  officer  of 
his  own  body-guard. 

Artaxerxes,  the  "  Long-handed,"  resembled  his 
father  Xerxes  in  person,  being  tall  and  handsome, 
as  well  as  in  disposition,  being  unwarlike  and 
weak.  The  only  great  event  of  his  reign  was  the 
reduction  of  Egypt  to  subjection,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Megabyzus.  From  the  influence  of  Esther 


1 82      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

and  Mordecai  probably,  Artaxerxes  was  well  dis- 
posed to  the  Jews;  and  Nehemiah  the  prophet 
was  actually  a  cup-bearer  at  the  Persian  court. 
We  read  in  the  Book  of  Ezra,  the  "  priest  and 
scribe,"  how  "  the  King  of  Kings  "  wrote — 

"  '  I  make  a  decree  that  all  they  of  the  people  of  Israel  and 
of  his  priests  and  Levites  in  my  realm  which  are  minded  of 
their  own  freewill  to  go  up  to  Jerusalem,  go  with  thee  [Ezra] 
...  to  carry  the  silver  and  gold  which  the  king  and  his  coun- 
sellors have  freely  offered  unto  the  God  of  Israel,  whose  habi- 
tation is  in  Jerusalem,  and  all  the  gold  and  silver  that  thou 
canst  find  in  all  the  province  of  Babylon.  .  .  .  And  I,  Artax- 
erxes, the  king,  do  make  a  decree  to  all  ihe  treasurers  which 
are  beyond  the  river,  that  whatsoever  Ezra  the  priest  shall  re- 
quire of  you,  it  be  done  speedily,  unto  an  hundred  talents  of 
silver,  and  to  an  hundred  measures  «.,f  wheat,  and  to  an  hun- 
dred baths  of  oil,  and  salt  without  prescribing  how  much/ 
After  reaching  Jerusalem  Ezra  and  his  companions  '  delivered 
the  king's  commissions  unto  the  king's  lieutenants,  and  to  the 
governors  on  this  side  the  river  [Euphrates].'  " 

Ezra,  however,  could  not  restore  the  holy  city 
without  the  help  of  Nehemiah,  whom  he  had  left 
in  Persepolis  as  the  king's  cup-bearer.  In  Nehe- 
miah's  narrative  we  read  how,  "  in  the  twentieth 
year  of  Artaxerxes,  he  asked  the  king  ("  the  queen 
also  sitting  by  him  ") 

"  '  to  send  me  unto  Judah,  unto  the  city  of  my  father's  sepul- 
chres, that  I  may  build  it '  .  .  .  ;  and  how  the  king  gave  him 
letters  '  to  the  governors  beyond  the  river,  and  a  letter  to 
Asaph,  the  keeper  of  the  king's  forest,  that  he  may  give  me 
timber  to  make  beams  for  the  gates  of  the  palace  and  for  the 
wall  of  the  city.'  .  .  .  After  details  as  to  the  opposition  and 
persecution  which  Nehemiah  and  his  friends  suffered  from  the 
Samaritans  and  others,  referred  to  already,  he  tells  how,  dur- 
ing the  building,  *  half  of  my  servants  wrought  in  the  work,  and 
the  other  half  of  them  held  both  the  spears,  the  shields,  and 
the  bows,  and  the  habergeons,  ...  for  the  builders,  every  one 
had  his  sword  girded  by  his  side,  and  so  builded.'  After  being 
twelve  years  in  Jerusalem  as  governor  he  returned  on  a  visit 
to  his  royal  master  ;  '  in  the  two  and  thirtieth  year  of  Artax- 


IRAN  OR   ANCIENT   PERSIA.  183 

erxes,  King  of  Babylon,  came  I  unto  the  king,  and  after  cer- 
tain days  I  came  to  Jerusalem/  " 

The  Persian  monarch  probably  paid  state 
visits  to  his  great  capitals  from  time  to  time, 
especially  Babylon  in  the  Chaldaean  province, 
Ecbatana  in  Media,  and,  less  frequently,  Sardis 
in  Lydia,  Susa,  and  Elam,  where  Cyrus  had  held 
his  court  before  settling  at  Persepolis,  the  chief 
seat  of  government. 

Artaxerxes  did  nothing  to  stay  the  degenera-  1 
tion  of  the  Persian  empire  that  had  commenced 
under  Darius,  and  the  decadence  was  more  and 
more  marked  during  the  following  reigns.  The 
leading  events  under  the  conclusion  of  this 
dynasty  mainly  belong  to  Grecian  history,  and 
throw  scarcely  any  light  on  the  extinct  civiliza- 
tion of  Iran.  Cyrus  the  Younger  gave,  as  a 
Persian  prince,  promise  of  certain  high  qualities; 
but  his  ambition  of  depriving  his  brother  of  the 
empire  quickly  procured  his  death  at  the  battle 
of  Cunaxa.  His  Greek  mercenaries,  the  famous 
"Ten  Thousand,"  being  led  north  successfully 
through  the  upper  valley  of  the  Tigris  and  across 
Armenia,  till  they  reached  the  welcome  shores  of 
the  Black  Sea,  proved  to  the  Greeks  that  many 
provinces  of  the  "  Great  King  "  could  now  easily  be 
overrun  and  perhaps  conquered.  Philip  of  Mace- 
don  was  in  fact  preparing  to  invade  Asia  Minor, 
when  he  was  assassinated ;  and,  therefore,  his 
more  warlike  son,  Alexander,  easily  carried  out 
the  idea  of  successfully  attacking  the  Persian 
empire  when  under  the  weak  Darius  III,  a  great- 
grandson  of  Darius  II.,  the  son  of  Artaxerxes  I. 

Crossing  the  Hellespont  in  334  B.C.,  Alexander 
advanced  from  victory  to  victory,  the  Grecian 
colonies  of  Asia  Minor  being  mostly  in  his  favour, 


184      EXTINCT  CIVILIZATIONS   OF   THE   EAST. 

and  Sardis,  the  most  western  of  the  Persian  capi- 
tals, opening  its  gates  to  the  conqueror.  On  at 
last  reaching  the  confines  of  Syria,  Darius  met 
him  with  a  large  army  at  Issus,  in  a  defile  where 
the  superior  numbers  of  the  Asiatic  army  were 
rather  a  disadvantage.  All  the  preparations  of 
the  Persians  were  in  vain  and  soon  after  Alex- 
ander conquered  the  whole  of  Phoenicia,  his  only 
delay  being  at  the  siege  of  Tyre,  already  described 
(Chapter  IV.).  When  the  Greeks  had  crossed  the 
desert  and  the  Euphrato-Tigris  valley,  an  immense 
army  of  the  Persians  and  their  allies  met  him  east 
of  Nineveh,  the  ancient  capital  of  Assyria ;  and 
again  Darius  suffered  dire  defeat.  Like  Sardis, 
the  other  Persian  capitals — Babylon,  Susa,  Per- 
sepolis,  and  Ecbatana — were  now  at  Alexander's 
feet,  with  all  their  stores  of  wealth  and  treasure. 
It  was  at  Persepolis,  according  to  the  familiar 
lyric,  that  the  "  royal  "  feast  was  held 

"  By  Philip's  warlike  son 
.  .  .  for  Persia  won  "  ; 

followed  by  setting  on  fire  all  the  splendid  struc- 
ture in  revenge  for  former  wrongs  inflicted  by 
Persia  upon  the  Greeks. 

"  Behold  a  ghastly  band, 
Each  a  torch  in  his  hand  ! 

Those  are  Grecian  ghosts  that  in  battle  were  slain, 
And  unburied  remain 
Inglorious  on  the  plain,  .  .  . 
Behold  how  they  toss  their  torches  on  high, 
How  they  point  to  the  Persian  abodes, 
And  glittering  temples  of  the  hostile  gods  ; 
The  king  seized  a  flambeau  with  zeal  to  destroy ; 

Thais  led  the  way 

To  light  him  to  his  prey, 
And  like  another  Helen,  fired  another  Troy!" 


IRAN   OR  ANCIENT    PERSIA.  185 

The  intensity  of  that  dramatic  stanza  con- 
trasts with  the  pathos  of  a  previous  one,  equally 
suitable  to  the  stately  halls  of  Persepolis.  The 
same  "  master  of  the  quire  " 

"  Chose  a  mournful  Muse, 
Soft  pity  to  infuse  : 
He  sung  Darius  great  and  good, 
By  too  severe  a  fate, 

Fallen,  fallen,  fallen,  fallen, 
Fallen  from  his  high  estate, 
And  weltering  in  his  blood  • 
With  downcast  looks  the  joyless  victor  sate, 
Revolving  in  his  alter'd  soul 

The  various  turns  of  Chance  below  ; 
And  now  and  then  a  sigh  he  stole, 

And  tears  began  to  flow." 

The  pity  felt  by  Alexander  over  Darius,  like  that 
of  Cyrus  over  Croesus,  Julius  Caesar  over  Pom- 
pey,  or  (as  some  say)  of  Oliver  Cromwell  over 
King  Charles,  may  remind  one  of  the  old  Greek 
proverb — "  He  who  sheds  tears  is  a  good  man." 

The  phrase,  "  weltering  in  his  blood,"  applied 
by  the  poet  to  Darius,  was  realized  at  Bactria, 
where  the  fallen  king  was  assassinated  by  a  satrap 
of  that  province.  Thus  the  last  of  the  dynasty  of 
Achaemenes,  ancestor  of  Cyrus  the  Great,  died  at 
a  spot  which  the  Persians  regarded  as  the  cradle 
of  their  race,  the  centre  of  the  earliest  civilization 
of  Iran. 

In  ancient  Egypt,  as  was  shown  in  Chapter 
III.,  there  were  two  great  empires,  separated  by 
the  rule  of  the  Hyksos,  or  shepherd  kings;  so  in 
ancient  Persia — />.,  Iran  before  its  conquest  by 
the  Mohammedans  in  the  middle  of  the  seventh 
century  A.D. — there  were  two  great  empires  sepa- 
rated by  the  rule  of  the  Parthians.  The  first  em- 
pire of  Iran  closed  with  Darius  III.,  "fallen  by 


1 86      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

too  severe  a  fate"  at  Bactria;  and  then,  under 
Iskander  (as  the  Persians  pronounced  "Alex- 
ander "),  the  government  was  still  continued  by 
satrapies  while  he  was  marching  to  India,  and 
finally  resting  at  Babylon  as  his  central  capital. 
A  main  object  of  the  policy  of  Alexander  was 
"to  fuse  into  one  the  two  leading  peoples  of  Eu- 
rope and  Asia,"  establishing  himself  at  the  head 
of  a  Perso-Hellenic  empire  with  Babylon  as  capi- 
tal. Alexander,  however,  had  small  opportunity 
for  carrying  out  his  great  plan ;  the  Macedonian 
habit  of  carousing  with  his  generals  was  unsuited 
to  the  malarious  climate  of  Babylon,  and  when 
only  thirty-three  years  old  he  succumbed  to  a 
violent  fever  in  June  323  B.C.  Persia  with  Syria 
fell  to  the  Seleucid  heirs  of  the  great  conqueror; 
while  the  other  heirs,  the  Ptolemies,  became  rulers 
of  Egypt. 

Parthia  was  a  large  satrapy  of  Persia  to  the 
east  of  Media,  which  was  seized  upon  and  occu- 
pied by  a  number  of  nomad  tribes  whom  the 
Greek  settlers  had  ousted  from  the  mountainous 
country  around  Bactria.  These  tribes  were  there- 
fore called  Parthians,  and  afterwards  also  Per- 
sians, though  how  far  they  had  kinship  with  the 
true  race  of  Iran  has  been  disputed.  Professor 
Rawlinson  thought  it  "in  the  highest  degree 
probable  "  that  the  Parthians  were  Turanian  or 
Mongolian,  and,  therefore,  not  Ayran  like  the 
Persians.  Gibbon's  words  are  that  "the  Parthian 
monarchs,  like  the  Mogul  [Mongol]  sovereigns  of 
Hindostan,  delighted  in  the  pastoral  life  of  their 
Scythian  ancestors,  and  the  imperial  camp  was 
frequently  pitched  in  the  plain  of  Ctesiphon,  on 
the  eastern  bank  of  the  Tigris."  After  expelling 
the  Greeks  from  this  north-eastern  part  of  the 


IRAN   OR  ANCIENT   PERSIA.  187 

plateau  of  Iran,  the  Parthians  chose  their  chief 
Arsaces  to  be  king  of  Persia,  and  thus  was  estab- 
lished the  dynasty  which  for  450  years  intervened 
between  the  two  empires  of  ancient  Iran.  They 
adopted  the  Persian  dress,  and  modified  their 
speech  so  much  that  it  appeared  in  a  great  meas- 
ure Aryan.  Greek  became  the  official  language 
during  their  most  flourishing  period.  The  Par- 
thians had  a  capital  near  the  modern  one  Tehe- 
ran, but  their  chief  seat  of  government  after  the 
extension  of  their  rule  westward  was  Ctesiphon, 
fifteen  miles  south-east  of  Baghdad,  where  there 
are  still  ruins  to  prove  its  size  and  magnificence. 
Some  of  their  kings  preferred  Ecbatana,  but  Par- 
thia,  from  its  poverty,  was  almost  deserted.  Much 
of  the  Parthian  character  and  history  is  known 
from  Greek  and  Roman  writers,  illustrated  by 
many  coins  which  have  been  found,  but  this  peri- 
od as  a  whole  has  little  bearing  on  our  subject, 
the  extinct  civilization  of  Iran.  One  point  to  re- 
member is  that  mighty  Rome  herself  was  more 
than  once  matched  in  war  by  this  Asiatic  race. 
Crassus,  the  consul,  on  reaching  his  province 
Syria,  boasted  how  easily  he  would  overrun  the 
barbarous  Parthia,  and  dictate  peace  to  their 
monarch  at  his  capital,  but  not  long  after  he  had 
crossed  the  Euphrates  he  suffered  a  terrible  de- 
feat, losing  his  life,  three-fourths  of  his  army,  and 
all  the  Roman  standards,  by  the  superior  tactics 
of  the  enemy's  general.  Crassus  had  already  be- 
come known  in  Syria  and  Mesopotamia,  for  his 
greed  of  money,  plundering  temples  and  despoil- 
ing the  rich  wherever  he  went ;  therefore,  when 
the  head  of  the  Roman  consul  was  brought  be- 
fore the  Persian  king,  some  of  the  soldiers  poured 
melted  gold  into  his  mouth,  telling  him  now  to 


1 88      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF   THE   EAST. 

take  his  fill.  Afterwards  Antony,  the  brilliant  but 
unscrupulous  triumvir,  ventured  on  a  great  ex- 
pedition against  the  same  nation,  approaching  by 
Armenia :  after  long  marches  he  found  himself 
out-generalled,  because  the  Parthians  avoided  a 
battle,  though  impeding  his  movements  and  cut- 
ting off  stragglers,  and  at  last  cold  and  hunger 
compelled  him  to  retreat.  For  nineteen  days  the 
enemy  disputed  with  the  Romans  every  step  of 
their  way,  so  that  the  sufferings  undergone,  ac- 
cording to  Merivale,  "were  unparalleled  in  their 
military  annals — blinding  snow  and  driving  sleet, 
want,  sometimes  of  provisions,  sometimes  of  water, 
the  use  of  poisonous  herbs  and  the  harassing  at- 
tacks of  the  enemy's  cavalry  and  bowmen  .  .  . 
reduced  the  retreating  army  by  one-third  of  its 
numbers."  Even  on  reaching  Armenia  the  wretch- 
ed legionaries  were,  by  the  severity  of  the  weather, 
further  reduced  by  8000  men.  Antony  resolved 
to  invade  Parthia  a  second  time,  but  never  passed 
the  frontier  of  Media ;  and  on  his  final  with- 
drawal into  Asia  Minor,  Phraates,  the  Parthian 
king,  took  Armenia,  and  massacred  all  the  Roman 
garrisons. 

It  was  after  being  thus  disgraced  in  Persia 
that  Antony,  not  daring  to  appear  in  Rome,  went 
to  Egypt,  and  finished  his  life  in  still  greater  dis- 
grace. Antony  and  Queen  Cleopatra,  being  de- 
feated at  Actium,  31  B.C.,  they  both  committed 
suicide  in  the  following  year. 

In  the  second  century  of  our  era,  Rome  again 
invaded  the  Parthian  Empire.  The  Emperor 
Trajan  invaded  Armenia  with  a  large  army,  and 
taking  the  Parthian  prince  Parthamasiris  by 
treachery,  put  him  to  death.  On  reducing  Baby- 
ion  and  Ctesiphon,  he  thought  himself  certain 


IRAN   OR  ANCIENT   PERSIA.  189 

of  the  conquest  of  Parthia,  because  the  king 
avoided  a  battle.  Revolts  showed  Trajan  that 
the  Asiatic  rule  of  Rome  was  insecure,  and  on  his 
retreat  to  Syria,  when  besieging  a  small  town  in- 
habited by  Arabs,  who  were  Parthian  subjects, 
the  great  emperor  had  to  acknowledge  defeat  and 
failure — "his  troops  suffering  from  heat,  swarms 
of  flies,  want  of  provisions,  and,  finally,  from 
violent  hail  and  thunderstorms,"  he  turned  his 
back  upon  the  petty  fortress,  baffled.  Soon  after- 
wards, King  Chosroes  regained  his  capital  Ctesi- 
phon  ;  and  in  the  same  year,  117  A. D.,  Trajan's 
successor  at  Rome,  Hadrian,  relinquished  both 
Assyria  and  Mesopotamia,  which  therefore  became 
again  subject  to  Parthia. 

The  Parthians  were  inferior  to  the  Persians  in 
culture  and  refinement,  so  that  the  .  two  races 
never  amalgamated,  and  at  last  the  original 
masters  of  the  soil  of  Iran  resolved  to  assert 
themselves,  one  pretext  being  that  the  Parthian 
kings  had  spoiled  the  pure  religion  taught  by 
Zoroaster,  and  introduced  a  form  of  idolatry  or 
worship  of  ancestors.  The  leader  of  the  revolu- 
tion was  Babegan,  a  descendant  of  the  old  Achse- 
menian  stock,  who  defeated  the  last  of  the  Par- 
thian dynasty  in  the  battle  of  Hormuz  ;  and  in 
the  year  226  A.D.  was  appointed  Shahanshah,  or 
King  of  Persia,  assuming  the  name  of  Artaxerxes. 
This  new  dynasty,  forming  the  second  Persian 
Empire,  is  called  Sassanian,  from  Sassan,  the 
grandfather  of  Babegan,  a  patriotic  enthusiast. 
This  first  reign  of  the  Sassanidswas  distinguished 
by  the  solemn  and  official  reconstitution  of  the 
doctrines  of  Zoroaster  as  the  state  religion.  The 
king  ordered  the  sacred  fire  to  be  lighted  through- 
out Persia,  with  priests  to  maintain  it  on  every 


190      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE   EAST. 

altar.  He  then  collected  the  precepts  of  Zoro- 
aster to  serve  as  a  canon  of  the  true  worship. 
The  magi  assembled  at  Persepolis,  the  restored 
capital  of  Iran,  and  from  the  whole  body  a  priest 
was  chosen,  who,  with  proper  assistance,  trans- 
lated the  sacred  Avesta  from  the  ancient  Zend 
language  into  the  vernacular  Persian.  The  state 
administration  and  government,  as  established  by 
Artaxerxes,  are  still  traceable,  even  after  the 
change  of  religion  caused  by  the  Mohammedan 
invasion. 

Sapor  (/>.,  Shahpoor),  the  son  of  Artaxerxes,  is 
chiefly  known  in  history  for  the  signal  defeat 
which  he  inflicted  upon  mighty  Rome.  He  in- 
vaded the  Roman  provinces  A.D.  258,  surprising 
even  Antioch,  and  the  Emperor  Valerian  collected 
forces  to  restore  the  Roman  supremacy.  Be- 
trayed, when  in  Mesopotamia,  into  a  dangerous 
position,  and  completely  failing  to  force  a  way 
through  the  enemy's  lines,  the  Roman  Emperor 
was  compelled  to  sue  for  peace,  offering  an  im- 
mense quantity  of  gold  as  ransom.  The  Persian 
King  refused,  and  at  last,  after  inviting  Valerian 
to  a  conference,  ordered  him  to  be  taken  prisoner 
as  soon  as  the  Roman  army  had  laid  down  their 
arms.  The  Persians  then  overran  Asia  Minor, 
not  only  depopulating  Antioch  and  other  cities, 
but  filling  whole  districts  with  devastation  and 
carnage.  Some  accounts  say  that  after  the  re- 
turn of  King  Sapor  with  his  victorious  army, 
Valerian  was  daily  exhibited  in  chains,  wearing 
the  imperial  purple  of  Rome,  and  that  when  he 
died,  A.D.  265,  his  body  was  flayed  and  the  skin 
afterwards  shown  to  the  Italian  envoys.  Gibbon, 
however,  would  reject  such  traditions  as  un- 
worthy of  Sapor ;  and  in  bas-relief  sculptures  we 


IRAN   OR  ANCIENT   PERSIA.  19! 

find  no  evidence  of  such  harsh  treatment.  On 
those  permanent  monuments  we  see  Valerian 
unfettered,  though  humbly  bending  the  knee  to 
his  lord,  the  great  king;  and  that  surely  was  deg- 
radation enough  to  the  man  who  had  been  unani- 
mously hailed  IMPERATOR  by  the  Roman  people. 
Sapor,  in  the  rock  sculpture,  looks  as  gallant  a 
gentleman,  with  handsome  profile,  moustache,  and 
long  waving  hair,  as  ever  did  knight  or  king  of 
Christendom  ;  and  Valerian,  though  with  one  knee 
bent  to  the  ground,  has  no  bond  or  fetter,  but 
wears  a  sword  by  his  side,  and  looks  towards  the 
mounted  king  with  an  open,  undaunted  counte- 
nance. The  crown  corresponds  to  that  seen  on 
Sapor's  coins.  Behind  Valerian,  in  a  double  line, 
are  seventeen  Roman  soldiers,  evidently  of  dif- 
ferent corps,  some  of  them  also  wearing  swords; 
while  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  group,  behind 
the  mounted  king,  are  ten  guards  on  horseback. 
The  composition  of  the  picture  is  skilful  and  artis- 
tic. Valerian  also  appears  in  another  bas-relief, 
where  fifty-seven  guards  support  Sapor,  while 
thirty-three  tribute  bearers  stand  in  front,  with  an 
elephant  and  a  chariot. 

A  gem  of  this  reign,  together  with  the  sculp- 
tures, may  convince  us  that  the  Oriental  writers 
had  reason  for  praising  the  beauty  of  Sapor  I. ; 
they  also  admired  his  courage  and  princely  lib- 
erality. An  overthrown  statue,  near  Shapoor 
(named  after  himself),  is  20  feet  long,  and  repre- 
sents him  with  long  hair,  curling  beard,  and  mous- 
tache, mural  crown,  tunic  and  trousers  of  some 
thin  flexible  material  like  silk. 

German  historians  are  proud  to  tell  of  the  de- 
feat of  the  Roman  soldiers,  who,  in  the  reign  of 
Augustus,  penetrated  the  dense  forests  east  of  the 


192      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

Rhine;  how  Varus,  the  governor,  with  all  his 
army  were  taken  in  ambush  by  the  heroic  Herr- 
man  (u  Arminius  "),  and  how  the  great  emperor 
apostrophized  the  dead  general,  "  Ah !  Varus, 
where  are  my  legions  ?  Give  me  back  the  lost  le- 
gions !  "  The  annals  of  ancient  Iran,  however, 
show,  as  we  have  seen,  and  shall  yet  see,  that  that 
disgrace  suffered  by  the  Roman  eagles  in  the  sav- 
age wilds  of  Germany  was  nothing  compared  to 
the  many  defeats  endured  in  Persia. 

Sapor  II.,  King  of  the  Persians,  restored  in 
the  fourth  century  all  the  warlike  renown  of  the 
race  of  Iran.  Before  assuming  full  power  he  had 
been  well  drilled  in  manly  exercises,  and  educated 
carefully  for  the  supreme  rule  of  a  large  empire. 
As  a  zealous  Zoroastrian,  he  opposed  the  exten- 
sion of  Christianity,  notwithstanding  the  remon- 
strations  of  Constantine  the  Great;  and,  on  his 
death,  in  337  A.D.,  at  once  invaded  the  empire, 
overrunning  Mesopotamia,  and  appointing  a  new 
king  over  Armenia.  At  Singara,  after  crossing 
the  Tigris,  he  allowed  the  army  of  Constantius  to 
take  his  fortified  camp ;  and  after  nightfall,  when 
the  Romans  were  all  asleep  or  feasting,  sur- 
rounded and  attacked  them  with  shocking  car- 
nage. The  legionaries,  as  the  only  means  of 
revenge  for  being  thus  surprised  by  the  Persians, 
surrounded  Sapor's  son,  who  had  been  taken 
prisoner  the  preceding  day,  and  tortured  him  to 
death.  The  third  attempt  of  the  Persians  to  take 
Nisibis  is  of  interest  to  the  student  of  siege  op- 
erations. The  citizens  enthusiastically  defended 
themselves,  being  led  not  only  by  the  Roman 
commander,  but  by  the  bishop,  St.  James,  who  is 
reported  to  have  worked  miracles  on  behalf  of 
the  town.  Sapor  could  not  succeed  by  the  usual 


IRAN   OR   ANCIENT   PERSIA.  193 

methods  of  attack,  but,  observing  that  the  river 
Mydonius  had  inundated  the  plain  on  which 
Nisibis  stands,  he  dammed  the  lower  part  of  the 
valley  and  made  a  deep  lake  all  round  the  town. 
Waiting  till  the  water  rose  nearly  as  high  as  the 
battlements,  and  meanwhile  constructing  large 
boats  and  rafts  to  float  the  military  engines 
against  the  walls,  he  renewed  the  siege ;  and 
though  at  first  repelled  by  the  torches  and  huge 
stones  of  the  Romans,  persisted  till  the  lateral 
pressure  of  the  huge  mass  of  water  forced  in  the 
wall  and  made  a  breach  150  feet  long.  The 
Persian  army  began  to  enter,  certain  of  victory: 
first  the  cavalry,  accompanied  by  the  horse  arch- 
ers, then  the  elephants  with  iron  towers  full  of 
bowmen,  followed  by  some  infantry.  Both  horses 
and  elephants,  however,  became  useless  from  the 
accumulation  of  mud  and  rubbish.  Sapor  ordered 
light  archers  to  the  front  to  prevent  the  ruined 
wall  being  rebuilt ;  but  the  enemy  posted  heavy 
armed  troops  in  the  breach,  while  a  new  wall  was 
being  built  behind,  and  in  the  morning  the  new 
fortifications  were  above  the  height  of  a  man.  In 
short,  Sapor  was  again  compelled  to  abandon  the 
siege  of  Nisibis. 

On  his  next  invasion  of  the  Euphrato-Tigris 
Valley,  Sapor  determined  first  to  take  Amida 
(now  Diarbekir),  an  important  Roman  stronghold 
and  arsenal  on  the  Upper  Tigris,  defended  by 
seven  legions.  The  besiegers  were  100,000  in 
number;  including,  besides  numerous  allies,  a 
ring  of  Persians  surrounding  the  city,  five  ranks 
deep.  Sallies  were  made  to  destroy  the  works  of 
the  besiegers,  but  in  vain.  Pestilence  and  hunger 
did  not  conquer  the  besieged,  and  seventy  days 
had  passed  before  Sapor  made  a  final  effort  by 
13 


194      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

raising  huge  mounds  to  overtop  the  walls,  and 
pressing  the  assault  from  day  to  day.  One  of 
the  mounds  raised  by  the  besieged  within  the 
wall  suddenly  fell,  forming  a  sort  of  bridge 
against  a  breach  made  by  a  battering  ram,  and 
thus  the  Persian  troops  found  entrance  to  mas- 
sacre and  sack  with  the  utmost  ferocity.  Sapor 
ordered  the  commanders  of  legions  to  be  cruci- 
fied, and  many  other  Roman's  of  high  rank  were 
compelled  to  march  in  irons  with  the  ordinary 
captives  despatched  to  Persia. 

The  Emperor  Julian,  on  assuming  the  purple, 
resolved  to  take  revenge  for  all  that  Persia  had 
inflicted  upon  Rome.  After  reaching  the  Eu- 
phrato-Tigris  Valley,  however,  he  found  the  dif- 
ficulties so  great,  that  he  declined  to  invest  Ctesi- 
phon,  though  the  capture  of  this  capital  had  been 
one  of  the  chief  objects  of  the  expedition.  A 
retreat  being  decided  upon,  the  Persians  gave 
the  Roman  army  such  trouble,  that  at  last  Julian 
offered  battle.  The  enemy  were  defeated,  but 
Julian  and  his  army  had  small  comfort  from  the 
victory.  At  last,  when  near  Samarah,  the  rear- 
guard and  van  were  at  the  same  time  suddenly 
attacked  by  the  Persians,  immediately  followed 
by  an  onset  upon  the  right  flank  of  the  Roman 
army.  Great  masses  of  cavalry  and  elephants 
created  terrible  confusion,  during  which  Julian 
was  pierced  under  the  right  arm  by  a  javelin. 
He  instinctively  grasped  the  sharp  weapon  to 
pull  it  from  his  ribs,  but  only  cut  his  fingers,  and 
presently  lost  consciousness.  The  battle  was 
obstinately  continued  with  doubtful  success  on 
either  side  till  nightfall,  and  soon  after  the  ill- 
fated  emperor  died  in  his  tent.  There  was  only 
one  officer  fit  to  take  the  high  place  now  vacant, 


IRAN   OR   ANCIENT   PERSIA.  195 

and  he  claimed  exemption  on  account  of  age; 
therefore,  Jovian,  who  had  hitherto  been  almost 
unknown,  was  suddenly  invested  with  the  im- 
perial purple,  and  saluted  as  "  Augustus  "  and 
IMPERATOR. 

Sapor  II.,  on  hearing  of  the  death  of  Julian, 
continued  to  harass  the  retreating  army,  till  at 
last  Jovian  and  his  council  were  willing  to  receive 
envoys  sent  by  the  Persian  King,  offering  peace 
for  thirty  years  on  certain  terms.  The  terms 
were  very  humiliating  to  the  Romans,  but  Sapor 
would  abate  nothing,  knowing  that  every  day 
rendered  his  power  greater.  Rather  than  grant 
any  one  of  such  shameful  terms,  says  a  Roman 
writer,  it  had  been  better  to  fight  ten  battles. 
One  of  the  conditions  of  this  treaty  was  that 
Nisibis,  the  chief  city  and  fortress  of  Eastern 
Mesopotamia,  thrice  besieged  by  Sapor  II.,  and 
previously  taken  by  his  father,  should  be  surren- 
dered by  the  Romans  on  fair  terms. 

Sapor  II.  died  in  379  A.D.,  after  a  reign  of 
seventy  years,  the  most  brilliant  of  those  in  the 
Sassanid  period.  He  appears  to  have  despised 
the  inscriptions  and  rock-sculptures  which  so 
many  of  the  other  ancient  monarchs  left  as  me- 
morials ;  and,  except  from  his  coins,  which  are 
numerous,  and  show  his  resemblance  to  the  first 
Sapor,  all  we  know  of  his  history  and  character 
is  told  by  his  contemporaries  and  successors. 
On  some  of  his  coins  he  is  expressively  called 
Shapoor  To  ham — i.e.,  "Sapor  the  Strong."  Forti 
nihil  difficile. 

Isdigerd,  who  was  King  of  Persia  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  fifth  century,  is  famous  for  being 
mentioned  in  the  will  of  the  Emperor  Arcadius. 
Wishing  to  have  a  protector  for  his  young  son, 


196       EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

Theodosius,  who  afterwards  became,  as  emperor, 
noted  for  his  unambitious  and  peaceable  disposi- 
tion, Arcadius  appointed  Isdigerd,  though  so  far 
from  Constantinople,  appealing  to  his  generosity, 
and  giving  many  instructions  in  behalf  of  the 
tender  ward.  One  authority  says  that  the  em- 
peror accompanied  the  request  with  the  legacy 
of  1000  pounds  weight  of  gold.  Accepting  the 
charge,  the  Persian  king  sent  a  learned  eunuch 
to  Constantinople,  who  remained  there  as  com- 
panion and  tutor  to  the  Prince  Theodosius.  It 
is  certain  that  Isdigerd  remained  constantly  at 
peace  with  the  Romans;  and  in  order  to  please 
the  imperial  court,  he  appears  for  some  time  to 
have  even  favoured  the  Christians  in  Persia. 
Afterwards,  however,  he  was  influenced  by  the 
Magians  to  persecute  those  who  had  professed 
the  new  religion  ;  and  many  died  as  martyrs  of 
the  faith. 

The  coins  of  Isdigerd  call  him  "  the  Most 
Peaceful,"  but  throughout  Iran,  from  his  treat- 
ment of  the  Magian  Zoroastrians,  and  afterwards 
of  the  Christians,  he  obtained  the  title  of  "  the 
Wicked  "  and  "  the  Harsh."  His  face  is  hand- 
some in  profile,  with  short  beard  and  hair,  gath- 
ered behind  in  a  cluster  of  curls.  The  native 
writers  tell  of  his  death,  that  it  was  due  to  his 
Persian-like  love  of  a  handsome  horse.  One  day 
such  a  one,  without  saddle  or  bridle,  galloped  up 
to  the  palace  gates,  but  would  allow  no  one  to 
approach  it  till  the  king  himself  appeared.  He 
spoke  to  the  beautiful  creature,  and  immediately 
it  stood  still  and  quietly  submitted  to  be  bridled 
and  saddled.  Isdigerd  confidently  approached 
to  mount,  and  in  an  instant  the  stranger  lashed 
out  a  blow  with  one  of  its  hind  legs,  which 


IRAN   OR  ANCIENT   PERSIA.  197 

stretched  the  prince  on  the  ground — dead.  Be- 
fore the  onlookers  had  realized  the  scene  the 
horse  had  disappeared  ;  but  many  of  the  devout 
of  both  religions  "  saw  in  the  wild  steed  an  angel 
sent  by  God." 

His  successor,  Varahran,  was  perhaps  more 
remarkable  by  the  method  of  his  death  than  by 
the  events  of  his  reign.  When  hunting  the  wild 
ass  in  a  valley  between  Shiraz  and  Ispahan,  his 
horse  plunged  into  a  spring  of  water,  and  neither 
he  nor  his  rider  ever  again  appeared.  In  the 
year  1810,  according  to  Malcolm,  in  his  "  History 
of  Persia,"  an  English  soldier  lost  his  life  in  the 
same  pool,  when  tempted  to  dive  in  for  a  swim, 
a  singular  confirmation  of  the  tradition  regarding 
the  death  of  Varahran.  Some  explain  the  fact  by 
the  quicksands  which  are  a  not  unfrequent  feature 
in  some  parts  of  the  Persian  plains. 

The  reigns  of  Kobad  and  Chosroes  I.  of  Persia 
(sixth  century)  are  notable  for  the  war  against 
the  empire,  and  especially  for  the  campaigns,  con- 
ducted on  behalf  of  Justinian,  by  the  heroic 
Belisarius.  Kobad,  invading  Armenia  and  Meso- 
potamia, found  the  fortress  of  Amida  so  strongly 
fortified  that  he  erected  a  huge  mound  in  order 
to  rise  above  the  walls.  This  work  being  under- 
mined by  the  enemy,  fell,  and  caused  considerable 
loss  to  the  Persians.  Kobad,  however,  persisted, 
till,  by  means  of  a  drain  under  the  wall,  they  got 
possession  of  a  tower,  and  thus  gained  the  place, 
with  great  carnage  in  the  streets.  The  town  was 
completely  sacked,  and  the  garrison  made  cap- 
tive. Soon  after,  a  whole  division  of  the  Roman 
army  was  surprised  on  the  banks  of  a  stream, 
some  of  them  bathing,  and  cut  off  almost  to  a 
man.  In  528  A.D.,  Belisarius,  to  whom  afterwards 


198      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF   THE   EAST. 

the  great  Justinian  owed  nearly  all  the  glory  of 
his  reign,  was  defeated  by  Xerxes,  the  son  of 
Kobad,  but  the  emperor  had  still  confidence  in 
his  general,  then  younger  than  Napoleon  in  his 
first  Italian  campaign.  A  dreadful  struggle  took 
place  at  Daras ;  in  the  second  part  of  the  battle 
the  Roman  right  was  charged  with  such  fury 
by  the  "  Immortals,"  a  Persian  body  of  reserve, 
that  it  was  driven  into  retreat,  and  then  was 
the  opportunity  for  generalship.  Belisarius  or- 
dered a  large  body  of  horse  to  charge  in  flank, 
and  thus  cut  the  Persian  column  in  two.  The 
whole  army  of  Kobad  broke  and  fled  in  disor- 
der. Chosroes,  on  his  succession  to  the  throne 
of  Persia,  was  at  first  glad  to  make  a  truce  with 
Justinian,  while  at  the  same  time  the  latter  wished 
to  employ  Belisarius  in  reducing  Africa  and 
Italy. 

Envious  of  the  successful  campaigns  of  Jus- 
tinian in  Africa  and  Europe,  Chosroes  at  last  re- 
solved to  contest  the  supremacy.  He  invaded 
Syria,  took  Aleppo,  and  advanced  upon  Antioch — 
"  the  Queen  of  the  East"  to  Europeans,  rich  and 
magnificent.  During  the  attack,  the  fall  of  an 
enormous  stage  of  wood  between  two  towers 
caused  a  panic  amongst  the  Roman  soldiers,  so 
that  the  Persians  gained  the  citadel,  and  became 
masters  of  the  town. 

In  the  year  551  A.D.,  the  Emperor  Justinian 
agreed  to  a  treaty  with  Chosroes,  paying  2600 
pounds  of  gold,  and  agreeing  to  a  five  years' 
truce.  The  repeated  payments  of  money  seemed 
to  make  the  empire  tributary  to  the  power  of 
Persia.  By  a  later  treaty  of  peace,  30,000  pieces 
of  gold  were  to  be  paid  annually  by  Rome,  and 
the  Christians  in  Persia  were  guaranteed  full 


IRAN   OR  ANCIENT    PERSIA.  199 

tolerance,  but  forbidden  to  make  converts  from 
the  Zoroastrians. 

After  the  death  of  Justinian,  Chosroes,  though 
now  old,  again  led  the  Persian  army,  when  the 
Romans  threatened  invasion.  Forcing  the  enemy 
to  raise  the  siege  of  Nisibis,  he  marched  upon 
the  stronghold  of  Daras.  After  a  siege  of  five 
months,  it  submitted  ;  and  Tiberius  obtained  a 
three  years'  peace  on  condition  of  the  annual 
payment  of  30,000  aurei  to  Chosroes. 

It  was  in  his  capital  of  the  West — Ctesiphon — 
that  the  successful  ruler  of  Iran  died.  A  great 
statesman  as  well  as  a  great  soldier,  Chosroes  I. 
had  triumphed  in  every  quarter,  commanded  re- 
spect from  all  his  many  enemies,  and  restored 
Persia  to  the  status  of  one  of  the  greatest  of 
nations,  almost  equal  to  that  enjoyed  under 
Darius  Hystaspes.  His  title  among  the  Persians 
was  u  the  Just,"  and  he  seems  to  have  deserved 
it  by  his  intelligent  tolerance  of  religious  opin- 
ions, his  enlightened  legislation,  the  respect  he 
paid  to  men  of  culture  and  letters,  whether  they 
were  foreigners  or  not,  and  his  patronage  of  agri- 
culture, commerce,  and  science.  The  Persian 
court  in  this  reign  was  visited  by  many  Euro- 
peans, including  some  Greek  scholars  whom  Jus- 
tinian's laws  against  philosophy  had  made  exiles. 
tk  They  found  him  acquainted  with  the  writings 
of  Aristotle  and  Plato,  whose  works  he  had 
caused  to  be  translated  into  the  Persian  tongue." 
Near  Susa,  one  of  his  capitals,  he  instituted  a 
"  medical  school,  which  became  by  degrees  a  uni- 
versity, wherein  philosophy,  rhetoric,  and  poetry 
were  also  studied."  The  game  of  Chess  (Persian 
Shah,  the  King)  was  brought  from  India  by 
Chosroes,  and  called  the  "  royal  game,"  though 


200      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST, 

afterwards  taught  to  Europeans  by  the  Arabs. 
One  principle  that  he  acted  upon  should  be  noted 
• — viz.,  that  the  deeds  of  a  man,  and  not  his 
thoughts,  were  what  he  should  be  judged  for.  In 
this  particular  alone,  Chosroes  was  superior  to 
many  teachers  among  Christians,  Mohammedans, 
and  others.  He  tolerated  Christianity :  one  of 
his  wives  was  a  Christian,  and  when  her  son  in- 
sisted at  a  later  time  on  retaining  that  religion, 
the  king  made  no  attempt  to  force  his  conscience, 
but  only  forbade  his  quitting  the  precincts  of  the 
palace. 

A  drinking  cup  of  this  period,  still  preserved, 
illustrates  the  art  belonging  to  the  extinct  civili- 
zation of  ancient  Iran.  French  and  English 
archaeologists  believe  that  it  must  have  been  once 
used  on  the  table  of  the  great  Chosroes.  Com- 
posed of  various  glass  disks  of  various  colours, 
held  together  in  a  gold  setting,  it  is  identified  by 
a  portrait  in  the  sapphire  stone  which  forms  the 
base  of  the  cup.  The  features  bears  a  close  re- 
semblance to  the  portraits  given  of  Chosroes  on 
his  coins,  and  the  workmanship  corresponds  to 
that  age. 

The  second  Chosroes  (surnamed  "  Parviz,"  the 
victorious)  professed  Christianity,  and  was  friendly 
with  the  Roman  Empire  till  603  A.  D.  He  defeated 
Germanus  and  his  successor,  and  two  years  after- 
wards took  Daras,  a  powerful  Roman  fortress, 
after  a  siege  of  nine  months.  For  several  years 
he  insulted  the  imperial  power  in  Syria,  Armenia, 
and  even  Galatia;  and  afterwards  took  Antioch, 
Damascus,  and  other  important  places.  Then 
proclaiming  a  "  holy  war  against  the  Christian 
misbelievers,"  he  invited  a  large  number  of  Jewish 
fanatics  as  allies  and  invested  Jerusalem;  and 


IRAN   OR  ANCIENT   PERSIA.  20 1 

after  taking  it  by  storm,  gave  it  up  to  his  army 
to  be  sacked  and  plundered.  The  churches  were 
burnt  and  much  of  the  city  destroyed  :  a  massacre 
of  the  inhabitants,  mainly  due  to  the  Jewish  swords 
and  daggers,  lasted  several  days.  The  famous 
"True  Cross,"  found  by  Helena,  was  brought  by 
the  Persians  to  Ctesiphon,  and  there  duly  pre- 
served by  a  Christian  wife  of  Chosroes.  Next 
year  Chosroes  Parviz  made  a  still  greater  capture 
by  surprising  Pelusium,  the  gate  of  Egypt,  and 
crossing  the  Delta  to  Alexandria,  which  was 
practically  undefended.  Persia  thus  for  a  time 
regained  that  rule  over  the  Nile  Valley  which 
Alexander  the  Great  had  deprived  her  of  nearly 
a  thousand  years  previously.  Meanwhile  another 
Persian  army  was  threatening  Constantinople 
itself  by  besieging  Chalcedon,  the  fortified  city 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Bosphorus.  Herac- 
lius,  the  emperor,  after  an  interview  with  the  gen- 
eral of  the  invaders,  sent  three  high  nobles  to  the 
Persian  King,  requesting  peace,  but  Chosroes 
haughtily  refused,  saying  that  Heraclius  must 
descend  from  the  throne,  and  yield  the  sovereignty 
to  his  enemy.  Soon  after  (617  A.D.)  Chalcedon 
fell,  and  other  places  submitted.  Thus,  again,  as 
under  the  first  Persian  Empire,  the  authority  of 
the  King  of  Iran  was  acknowledged  as  far  west 
as  the  Grecian  shores  of  the  Egean,  and  through- 
out Syria  and  Egypt.  With  the  view  of  making 
the  new  conquests  permanent,  Chosroes  made 
Ctesiphon  on  the  Tigris  the  western  capital  of 
Persia.  Chalcedon  was  actually  held  for  ten 
years  by  the  Persians. 

Heraclius,  the  emperor,  was  in  despair,  and 
resolved  to  escape  to  Carthage  in  Africa,  but  be- 
fore he  got  on  board  ship,  the  populace,  with  the 


202      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE   EAST. 

Patriarch  of  the  Church  at  their  head,  compelled 
him  to  stay  in  the  capital  and  assist  in  repelling 
the  Persians.  The  resolution  was  now  taken  to 
make  use  of  the  navy  and  carry  the  war  into  the 
enemy's  country.  The  emperor  landed  his  army 
at  Issus,  in  the  angle  between  Syria  and  Asia 
Minor,  near  the  field  where  Alexander  won  the 
second  of  his  three  great  victories  over  the  earlier 
Persians.  Heraclius  drilled  his  troops  there,  and 
soon  after  defeated  an  army  of  the  enemy.  Next 
year  he  invaded  Armenia,  but  had  to  return  with- 
out bringing  Chosroes  to  an  engagement.  In  the 
following  campaigns  he  gained  several  victories, 
recovered  the  important  fortress  Amida,  which 
the  Persians  had  held  for  twenty  years,  and  gained 
renown  for  his  personal  bravery.  On  the  bridge 
of  Sarus,  when  the  Romans  were  in  deadly  con- 
flict with  the  enemy,  led  by  Shar-Barz,  the  chief 
general  of  Chosroes,  Heraclius,  passing  forward 
amongst  the  legionaries,  struck  down  a  huge 
Persian  with  his  own  hand,  and  then  threw  him 
into  the  river. 

Chosroes  at  last  collected  a  large  army  in 
order  to  bring  the  war  to  a  close.  Generalship, 
however,  was  lacking,  although  Syria,  Asia  Minor, 
Egypt,  and  Chalcedon  were  still  retained.  Hera- 
clius, in  traversing  the  interior  of  Persia,  plun- 
dered several  palaces  and  cities.  Dastagherd,  the 
favourite  residence  of  Chosroes,  had  a  "  paradise  " 
or  park,  in  which  the  Romans  found,  not  only 
gazelles,  wild  asses,  ostriches,  peacocks,  and 
pheasants,  but  lions  and  tigers.  Here  Heraclius 
celebrated  the  Epiphany  before  destroying  the 
palace.  A  report  that  the  Persian  monarch  had 
escaped  from  Dastagherd  by  making  a  hole  in  the 
wall  of  his  palace  garden  only  enhanced  the  dis- 


IRAN   OR   ANCIENT   PERSIA.  203 

grace  he  had  already  incurred  by  shunning  a  per- 
sonal encounter  with  Heraclius;  and  though  the 
latter  wished  to  come  to  a  peaceful  settlement, 
Chosroes  obstinately  refused.  His  unpopularity 
was  increased  by  acts  of  gross  tyranny  and  by 
threats  against  Siroes,  his  son  and  successor,  and 
others.  Owing  to  a  court  intrigue  in  favour  of 
that  heir  to  the  throne,  Chosroes  was  seized  when 
making  arrangements  to  escape,  and,  after  four 
days'  imprisonment,  cruelly  put  to  death — "  a  just 
but  tardy  Nemesis  overtaking  the  parricide." 

Siroes  (Kobad  II.)  son  of  Chosroes  Parviz, 
hastened  to  conclude  peace  with  Heraclius;  and 
by  the  terms  of  it  Syria,  Asia  Minor,  Egypt,  &c., 
were  surrendered,  and  the  "  wood  of  the  Cross," 
which  had  been  taken  from  Jerusalem,  was  given 
back  to  the  Romans.  Next  year  the  emperor 
made  a  special  pilgrimage  to  the  capital  of  Judaea 
in  order  to  restore  the  relic  to  its  shrine.  The 
Church  feast  of  the  "  Elevation  of  the  Cross  "  is 
still  a  memorial  of  the  joy  felt  by  those  simple 
Christians — i/jth  September  629.  King  Kobad  II. 
appears  to  have  fallen  a  victim  to  a  pestilence 
which  at  that  time  afflicted  Persia,  one  of  the 
many  plagues  which  then,  and  long  afterwards, 
scourged  the  East  and  West,  owing  to  the  lack 
of  "  sanitary "  knowledge,  especially  in  large 
towns. 

Meantime  a  formidable  power  had  arisen  un- 
suspected by  Persia,  though  destined  soon  to 
overshadow  the  land  of  Iran  and  many  others. 
During  the  struggle  between  Heraclius  and 
Chosroes  Parviz,  Mohammed  had  become  the 
most  powerful  man  of  the  Arab  race.  He  chal- 
lenged Rome  in  630  A.D.  by  an  invasion  of  Syria, 
and  soon  after  led  an  army  of  30,000  brave  men, 


204      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS   OF  THE   EAST. 

who  despised  death  when  fighting  for  their  com- 
mon faith.  The  date  of  Mohammed's  death  was 
also  that  of  the  accession  of  the  last  king  of 
ancient  Persia,  Isdigerd  III.,  the  grandson  of 
Chosroes  Parviz. 

The  war  between  Persia  and  the  Moslems  be- 
longs rather  to  a  history  of  the  Arabian  race,  and 
throws  little  light  on  our  subject — the  extinct 
civilization  of  Iran.  The  Persians,  exhausted 
already  by  foreign  wars  and  internal  strife,  suf- 
fered many  defeats,  and  at  last  hastily  abandoned 
Ctesiphon,  their  capital.  The  Moslem  army  at 
once  entered  this  city,  then  one  of  the  richest 
prizes  in  the  world,  with  the  accumulated  wealth 
of  four  centuries  of  Persian  monarchs.  The 
Arabian  writers  afterwards  described  in  glowing 
colours  the  palaces  and  gardens,  the  beautiful 
streets,  the  luxury  of  the  houses,  and  especially 
the  royal  palace,  with  its  portico  of  twelve  marble 
pillars,  each  150  feet  in  height,  its  hall  with 
vaulted  roof,  brilliant  with  stars  of  gold  repre- 
senting the  twelve  signs  of  the  Zodiac,  under 
which  the  Great  King  sat  on  his  throne  to  dis- 
pense justice.  One  room  of  the  palace  had  a 
carpet  of  white  brocade,  450  feet  long,  with  a 
border  of  precious  stones,  representing  a  flower 
garden,  the  leaves  being  emeralds,  the  blossoms 
and  buds  of  pearls,  rubies,  sapphires,  and  other 
precious  stones.  Besides  these  and  other  treas- 
ures found  in  the  city,  the  Arabs  captured  a  casket 
of  Isdigerd's  which  was  being  carried  off,  contain- 
ing his  robe  of  state  embroidered  with  rubies  and 
pearls,  the  crown  and  seal  of  Chosroes,  and  other 
valuables. 

One  fifth  of  the  entire  booty  of  Ctesiphon,  to- 
gether with  all  the  works  of  art,  was  sent  to 


IRAN   OR   ANCIENT   PKRSIA. 


205 


Medina  to  the  Khalif  Omar;  the  rest,  according 
to  Professor  G.  Rawlinson,  afforded  ^312  to 
each  of  the  60,000  Moslem  soldiers.  By  a  subse- 
quent victory  at  Jalula,  where  100,000  Persians 
are  said  to  have  fallen,  each  soldier  obtained 
about  £260  of  booty.  We  are  also  told  that 
100,000  Persians  (such  numeration  of  course 
must  mean  simply  an  enormous  number)  perished 
at  the  Battle  of  Nehavend.  It  was  there  that  the 
Moslem  general,  Nomahn,  mounted  on  a  white 
horse,  and  shouting  Allah  Akbar,  led  his  men  to 
victory  against  terrible  odds,  and  fell  pierced  to 
death  in  the  moment  of  victory.  It  was  there, 
too,  that  the  second  empire  of  Iran  came  to  a 
close.  "  The  battle  of  Nehavend,"  says  Mal- 
colm, "decided  the  fate  of  Persia,  which  from  its 
date  fell  under  the  dominion  of  the  Arabian 
Khalifs.* 

The  dynasty  of  the  Sassanid  kings,  the  house 
of  Babek,  was  now  no  more.  Not  that  Isdigerd, 
last  of  his  race,  died  on  the  field  of  Nehavend; 
indeed,  he  appears  to  have  never  even  once  been 
leader  in  the  many  battles  with  the  Arabians ; 
but  for  the  last  ten  years  of  his  life  he  had  no 
kingdom.  He  is  said  to  have  been  killed  by  a 
robber  for  the  sake  of  his  clothes,  when  escaping 
from  an  offended  crowd,  651  A.D. 

The  conquest  of  Persia  by  the  Arabians  led 
to  a  more  permanent  change  than  that  of  the 
Greek  invasion.  The  Moslems,  by  their  force  of 
character  and  religious  convictions,  introduced 
so  many  changes  that,  excepting  the  language 
and  some  traces  of  the  administration  of  Artax- 
erxes,  all  the  main  features  of  the  civilization  of 

*  "  History  of  Persia,"  i.  177. 


206      EXTINCT   CIVILIZATIONS  OF  THE   EAST. 

ancient  Iran  became  extinct.  The  religion  of  Zo- 
roaster only  survived  among  a  small  body,  the 
"  Parsees."  Some  of  the  culture  of  Samarkand  as 
a  Mohammedan  university  may  also  be  traced  to 
the  early  Iranians;  lying  to  the  north  of  Bactria 
and  in  the  same  valley,  it  became  a  centre  of  civi- 
lization under  the  Greek  rule,  and  throughout  the 
Sassanid  period  was  noted  for  learning  and  art. 
The  Arabian  writers  admire  it  proverbially,  for  its 
climate  and  beautiful  surroundings,  as  well  as 
for  the  world-known  colleges  and  mosques  which 
attracted  faithful  Moslems  from  all  lands.  Even 
the  fair  district  of  Samarkand,  however,  must 
yield  to  that  fate  which  has  already  been  referred 
to  as  overshadowing  the  "  continental  depression  " 
to  the  north  of  Iran. 

The  dress  of  the  Medes  is  known  from  sculp- 
tures, confirmed  by  the  accounts  of  historians. 
In  peace  they  had  long  flowing  robes  of  many 
colours — sometimes  made  of  silk.  The  wealthy 
wore  gold  chains,  bracelets,  and  earrings,  and  we 
read  of  favourite  horses  having  golden  bits  and 
bridles.  The  chief  amusement  of  the  court  was 
hunting  on  horseback  with  the  bow  or  javelin, 
the  Parthian  sculptures  showing  that  the  custom 
was  still  very  characteristic  even  in  that  later 
period. 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  Persians,  who,  as  a 
race,  had  been  noted  for  temperance  and  self- 
restraint,  were  known  to  the  Greeks  as  luxurious 
in  eating,  and  given  to  intoxication  whenever 
opportunity  allowed.  We  are  even  told  that 
"once  a  year,  at  the  feast  of  Mithras,  the  king 
was  bound  to  be  drunk."  Great  attention  was 
oaid  to  the  education  of  Persian  boys, — early 
rising,  bodily  exercises,  especially  in  riding,  hunt- 


IRAN  OR  ANCIENT   PERSIA.  207 

ing,  and  agricultural  work  ;  military  service  being 
compulsory  at  the  age  of  fifteen.  Like  the  Medes, 
the  wealthy  Persians  wore  ornaments  of  gold,  and 
had  also  the  handles  of  their  swords  and  daggers 
of  that  metal.  The  poorer  Persians  had  fre- 
quently tunic  and  trousers  of  leather,  with  a  felt 
cap,  and  a  pair  of  high  shoes  fastened  by  a  string 
round  the  ankle. 

The  general  appearance  of  a  Persian  army 
representing  all  parts  of  the  empire  must,  from 
the  variety  of  garb  and  colour,  have  been  very 
striking.  The  Persians  arid  Medes,  with  scarlet 
kilts  and  gilded  breastplates  ;  Arabs,  with  woollen 
shirts;  Assyrians,  with  helmets  and  linen  corse- 
lets ;  Berbers,  with  leathern  jerkins ;  Hindoos, 
with  cotton  dress  of  various  colours;  Ethiopians, 
clad  in  skins  and  armed  with  clubs  ;  Scythians, 
with  loose  trousers  and  pointed  caps :  arms  of 
every  form  and  age,  rude  and  civilized.  Then, 
besides  the  enormous  number  of  horses  and  mules 
proper  to  Persians,  Parthians,  and  Arabs,  there 
were  elephants,  camels,  and  wild  asses.  Herodotus 
tells  us  that,  excepting  the  dagger  which  all  Asi- 
atics wear  constantly,  a  large  proportion  of  the 
horsemen  brought  only  a  lasso  of  leather  into  the 
battlefield,  and,  like  some  of  the  South  Americans, 
wielded  it  with  deadly  effect. 


GENERAL   INDEX. 


A. 

Abyssinia,  19,  113-116. 

Abderahman,  defeated  in  France, 
126. 

the  Ommiad,  128. 

Accadian,  &c.  (see  AKKAD). 

Achaemenes,  165. 

Ahab,  77. 

Ahasuerus  180  (see  XERXES). 

Ahmes,  Pharaoh,  58. 

Ahriman,  144. 

Akkad,  25,  42,  46,  76,  146. 

Akkads,  12,  20,  24,  34  (see  BABY- 
LONIA). 

Alexander  the  Great,  91,  92,  104, 
116,  147,  164,  176,  183-186. 

Alexandria,  105,  108,  201. 

Alhambra,  135. 

Almanzor,  133,  134. 

Alphabet,  Origin  of,  53,  54. 

Ameni,  Egyptian  Governor,  55. 

Amida,  siege,  193,  194,  197,  202. 

41  Ammon,     Ameer,  53,  61,  65,  167. 

Ammonites,  95. 

Amraphel,  36. 

Andalusia,  123,  126,  128,  136. 

Antioch,  iq8. 

Antony,  188. 

Apepi,  Pharaoh  of  Joseph,  61. 

Apis,  51,  167,  168. 

Arabia,  38,  95,  108-121. 

Arabs,  race  and  country,  108-111. 

religion  before  Mohammed, 

ii6-n8. 

Islam,  119,  120. 

rapid  conquests,  122—127. 

in  France,  126,  127. 

civilisation  in  Spain,  131-137. 

in  Persia,  Ctesiphon,  204. 

Arcadius,  Emperor,  195,  196. 

Armenia,  12,  76^  147,  183,  188,  202. 

14 


Artaxerxes,   the  Long-handed,  104, 

182. 

the  Sassanian,  189. 

Aryans,  16-19,  138,  142. 

Assur,  36. 

Assur-banipal,  39-41,  65. 

Assur-nasrpal,  77. 

Assyria,  36,    39,  44,  46,   65,  82,  91, 

146. 
Assyrians,  36-41. 

country,  &c.,  36,  37. 

golden  age,  37-42.  ^ 

second  to  Babylonians,  44. 

in  Persian  army,  207. 

Assyriology,  9,  76. 
Astyages,  150-153. 
Athens  burnt,  179. 
Avesta,  the  "  Law,"  143. 

B. 

Baal,  Bel,  25,  32,  33,  44,  93,  94. 

Babegan,  189. 

Babel,  Babilu,  23, 25;  Babil  (mound), 

Babylon,  25,  36-39,  183. 

siege  by  Cyrus,  158-161. 

siege  by  Darius,  171,  172,  186. 

Babylonia,  23,  44,  46,  157. 

Babylonians,  country^  &c.,  23. 

culture  and  religion,  25-36. 

national  epic,  42  (see  also  AS- 
SYRIA). 

Bactria,  139-141,  143,  185,  206. 

Baghdad,  130,  187. 

Basques,  against  the  Franks,  129. 

Bedouins,  20,  21,  95,  97. 

Behistoon,  rock  inscription,  169, 
170,  172. 

Belshazzar,  159,  160. 

Belisarius,  197,  198. 

Berbers,  123,  207. 


209 


210 


GENERAL   INDEX. 


Berosus,  31. 
Bokhara,  141. 
Brugsch,  Dr.,  49,  72,  74. 


Cairo,  51,  61. 

Cambyses,  65,  91,  165—169. 

Canaanites,  76. 

Carchemish,  69,  70,  76,  78. 

Carthage,  88,  90,  91,  94. 

Cartouches  explained,  10,  60. 

Caspian  Sea,  '"  continental  depres- 
sion," &c.,  13,  141,  206. 

Caucasian  race,  14-19. 

Ceuta,  123. 

Chalcedon,  201. 

Chaldea,  23,  25,  27  (see  BABYLONIA). 

Charlemagne,  128-130,  164. 

Charles  Martel,  126,  127. 

Chedorlaomer,  36. 

Chemi  (Kem),  52. 

Cheops,  Pharaoh,  49. 

Chess,  199. 

Chosroes  (Parthian),  189. 

the  Just,  197-199;  court,  &c., 

199  200 

the  Victorious,  200,  201. 

Cleopatra,  60,  188. 

Colchis,  Egyptians  at,  59. 

Constantinople,  121,  122,  130,  201. 

Cordova,  124,  125,  128,  131-134,  137. 

Cornwall,  Phoenicians  at,  88. 

"  Cosmogony,''  31. 

Crassus,  defeat  of,  187. 

Croesus,  154-157,  162. 

Cross,  "  the  True,"  201,  203. 

"  Elevation  of,"  203. 

Ctesiphon,  186-189,  194,  199,  201, 
204. 

Cunaxa,  183. 

Cuneiform  inscription,  27-29. 

Cyaxares,  147-149. 

Cyprus,  38,  85. 

Cyrus,  the  Great,  147,  150-165. 

cuneiform  record,  154. 

tolerance  of  religions,  160-162. 

D. 

Damascus,  121,  125. 

Darius  Hystaspes,  104,  169-178. 

government,  &c.,  177. 

rock-tomb,  178. 

III.,  183-186. 

Darwin,  home  of  first  races,  13. 

Dastagherd,  202. 

David,  King,  84,  99-101,  in. 


Deborah,  114,  115. 
Deioces,  146,  147. 
Dumuzi,  "  Tammuz,"  epic,  30. 

E. 

Ecbatana,  121, 147, 152, 157, 162, 183. 
Eclipses  in  chronology,  149,  150. 
Egypt,  46-66,  181,  186,  201. 
Egyptians,  habits  and  living,  47,  48. 

art  and  science,  48-51. 

letters,  54,  55,  65,  66. 

religion  and  culture,  46,  52,  53, 

1 66. 

dress,  55,  56. 

national  epic,  72  (see  THEBES). 

Egyptology,  9,  52. 

El,  93,  94,  96,  97,  117. 

Elamites,  35,  36,  40,  43,  154. 

Embalming,  53,  166. 

Erech,  Uruki  (Warka),  25,  27,  40, 

42i  43- 

Esarhaddon  (see  ASSUR-BANIPAL). 
Esther,  180,  181. 

Ethiopia,  48,  113,  114,  167,  180,  181. 
Ethiopians,  in  Persian  army,  207. 
Eurasia,  13,  14. 

Europe,  a  mere  peninsula,  13,  15. 
Exodus,  60,  95. 
Eyuk,  Hittite  palace  at,  79. 
Ezra,  182. 

F. 
Fatimites,  132. 

G. 

Ganges,  work  of,  12,  64. 
Geez  tongue,  19,  113. 
Gibbon,  127,  130,  186. 
Gibraltar,  123. 

Goths  in  Spam,  122-124,  I31« 
Granada,  135-137. 
Guadalquiver,  88. 

H. 

Haco,  King,  at  Largs,  149. 
Halys,  river,  155. 
Hammurabi,  25,  36. 
Haroun-el-Raschid,  130. 
Hatasu,  Egyptian  queen,  56. 
Harpagus,  150,  151,  157. 
Hannibal,  91,  93. 

Hebrews,  21,  31,  41,   58,60,61,69, 
94—102,  182,  183. 

religion,  94,  97-99,  103. 

Exodus,     95,  97. 

Judges  and  Kings,  98-102. 


GEN 

ERAL  INDEX.                                211 

Hebrews,    captivity,     101-103 

(see 

L. 

JEWS). 
Heraclius,  Emperor,  201-203. 
Herod,  King,  106. 

Kaaba,  117,  118. 
Kadesh,  Hittite  capital,  64,  69,  71- 

Hieroglyphs,  10,  60. 

73,.79- 

Hiram,  King,  84,  113. 
Hittites,  63,  64,  67-80. 
empire  of,  68. 
—  allies,  74. 

Karnak,  56,  64,  65. 
Kena  (see  PHOENICIANS). 
Kephren,  Pharaoh,  26,  49. 
Keteians  (?  Khita),  80. 

letters,  78. 
dress,  78. 
religion,  93. 

Khalifs,  120,  121,  125,  127,  130. 
Khita  (see  HITTITES). 
Khitasir,  King  of  the  Hittites,  72, 

H.  King  of  Egypt,  71. 
—   perhaps    the  *'  Keteians 

"    of 

Khorsabad,  38. 

Homer,  80. 
Homer,  52,  61,  80,  83,  85. 
Hyksos,  55,  58,  95. 

Kosseans,  35. 
Khufu  (see  CHEOPS). 
Khun-Aten,  Pharaoh,  71. 

I. 

L. 

India,  12,  16,  19,  85,  175,  176,  i 
Indus,  138,  175,  176. 
Ionia,  80,  157. 

80. 

Lepsius,  Professor,  10,  48. 
Lombardy,  12. 
Lydia,  149,  154-156,  173- 

Iran  or  Ancient  Persia,  &c.,  r 

8. 

country,  138,  140. 

M. 

religion,  142-145,  166  (set 
MEDES,  PERSIANS). 
Isdigerd,  195-197. 

also 

Maccab,  Jewish  patriot,  105. 
Magi,  29,  146,  150,  151,  164,  169,  190. 
Marathon,  176. 

III.,  204,  205. 
Ishdubar,  Babylonian  hero,  3; 

,  42- 

Mardonius,  176,  178,  180. 
Mariette,  10,  65,  70,  168. 

44 
[slam,  origin  and  creed,  119. 
Israel  (see  HEBREWS,  JEWS). 

Mankind,  first  home  of,  13,  14. 
races  of,  14-16. 
Mecca   116—  118. 

Issus,  battle,  184,  202. 

Medes,  37,  141,  145-154. 

dress,  206,  207  (see  IRAN). 

J. 

Medina,  120,  205. 

Jalula,  Persian  defeat  at,  205. 
Jephthah,  sacrifice  of,  94. 
Jerablus,  71. 
Jerusalem,  41,  84,  85,  ioo(and 

IO2,  121,  2OO,  2OI. 

Jews,  103-107  (see  also  HEBRE 
captivity  and  results,  102 
quarrel  with    Samaritans 

lote), 

ws). 
103. 
103, 

Memphis,   51-53,  61,  65,   165,   167-^ 
168. 
Meneptah,  Pharaoh,  60,  96. 
Menes,  Pharaoh,  51,  52. 
Mesopotamia,  24  (see  CHALDEA). 
Miltiades,  176. 
Miriam,  115. 
Mithra,  Mithras,  144,  206. 
Moabites,  21,  22,  94,  95. 

104. 
insurrections,  105. 
under  Herod,  106. 
nationality  extinct,  106. 

Moabitic  Stone,  22  (frontispiece). 
Mohammed,  116-120,  203,  204. 
Mongols,  12,  15,  22,  24,  69,  162,  186. 
Moors,  22,  123. 

Job,  21,  112. 
Joseph,  58,  61,  95. 
Joshua,  76,  98. 

Moses,  95-97. 
Mycenae,  n,  85. 

[ovian,  Emperor,  195. 
J;idah,  101,  102  (see  HEBREWS 

1. 

N. 

Julian,  Emperor,  145. 
Justinian,  Emperor,  197-199. 

Nabonidus,  King,  42,  159. 
Nebuchadnezzar,  41,  42,  91,  102,  149, 

fuvenal,  52,  107. 

w. 

212 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


Necho,  Pharaoh,  41,  90. 
Nehavend,  205. 
Nehemiah,  104,  182. 
Nineveh,  36,  37,  39,  59,  147,  148. 
Nisibis,  siege,  192,  195. 

O. 

Okad,  Arab  games  at,  117. 

Ophir,  85. 

Oraetes,  173. 

Ormuzd,  143,  165,  170,  171,  178. 

Orpntes,  69,  70,  72,  73. 

Osiris,  53. 

P. 

Parsees,  142,  144,  145,  206. 
Parthians,  185-189  (see  IRAN). 
Pelusium,  165,  201. 
Persepolis,   164,   177,   180,   182,    185, 

190. 

Persia,  18,  23,  142,  163  (see  IRAN). 
Persians,  138-166. 

dress,  207. 

army,  207. 

Philce,  59. 
Philistines,  98,  99. 
Phraortes,  147. 
Phoenicia,  22,  31,  77,  184. 
Phoenicians,  80-94. 

name,  80. 

country,  81. 

capital,  82. 

traders,  85,  86,  89,  90. 

colonies,  88-00. 

letters,  87. 

religion,  89,  93. 

Plataea,  battle,  180. 

Poictiers,  two  battles,  126. 
Population,  centres  of,  cause,  11-13. 

R. 

Ra,  the  Sun-god,  53. 

Races  of  men,  14-16. 

Ramses  II.,  60-63,  72,  75,  96. 

Ramses  III.,  62. 

Renan,  19. 

Roderick,  King,  123,  124. 

Roland,  at  Roncesvaux,  129,  130. 

Rome,  187. 

Roncesvaux  (-valles),  129,  130. 

Rosetta  Stone,  9,  10. 

Ruth,  95. 


Sabaea  (see  SHEBA). 
Salamis,  179. 


Snmarah,  194. 
Samaria,  38. 
Samaritans,  102-104. 
Samarkand,  206. 
Srmuel,  199. 
Srjitiago,  134. 
Sr.por,  190,  191. 
— —  II.,  192,  195. 
Srracens,  123. 
Sejdis,  155,  156,  173. 
Ssrgon  I.,  35. 

II.,  38. 

S^rus,  bridge,  202. 
Srssanids,  165,  189. 
Ss.ul,  King,  99. 
Schliemann,  10,  91. 
Scott,  Sir  Michael,  134,  135. 
Scythians,  148,  174,  175. 

cress,  207. 

Semites,  19,  22. 

Sennacherib,  38,  39. 

Sfsoslris  (see  RAMSES  II.). 

SI  alrr.anexer,  77,  101,  102. 

SI  amash  ("  Shemesh  "),  30. 

Sheba,  Sabaea,  in. 

—  —  Queen  of,  112-114. 

S?  inar,  25,  36,  42. 

Sr  ishak,  PHaraoh,  64. 

Sl.umir  (see  SHINAR). 

Si  ion,  82,  83,  86. 

Si  )par,    Sippara    (li  Sepharvaim  "), 

•!5i  2^  35,  4°,  159- 
Srierdis,  168. 
Sirith,  George,  401. 
Sc  lomon,  King,  69,  83,  84,  95,  101, 

CH--H5. 

Spain,  122,  124,  &c. 
Susa  (lk  Shushan  "),  40,  181,  183. 
Syria,  38,  67-71,92. 

T. 

Tr.citus,  54,  107. 

Tr.mmuz,  30,  158. 

Tr.rik,  123,  125. 

Trxtan,  38. 

Tfrshish,  88. 

Ttl  el-Amarna,  capital  of  the  Hit= 

lite  Pharaoh,  71. 
Thebes,  Er  yptian  capital,  53,  56-65, 

167. 

TKeoe'osius,  Emperor,  196. 
TJ.othmes  I.,  56,  59,  70. 

—  in.,  56, 65, 70, 83. 

Ti  Deriiis,  Emperor,  199. 
Ti;lat'i-Adar,  36. 

Pileser,  37,  76. 

Teledo,  124,  125,  131,  135. 


GENERAL   INDEX.    " 


2I3 


Tomyris,  Queen,  162,  163. 

Tours,  126. 

Trajan,  188,  189. 

Treason,  high,  how  punished,    171, 

172. 

Troy,  n. 

Turanians,  22,  24,  143. 
Tyre,  81-83,  85,  91,  92. 

U. 

Ur  u  of  the  Chaldees,"  24,  25,  30. 

V. 

Valerian,  Emrjeror,  190,  191. 
Varahran,  curious  death  of,  197. 

W. 

Wallace,  Dr.  A.  R.,  theory  of  earli- 
est men,  14,  15. 
White  Men,  probable  origin,  14,  15. 


White  Men,  characteristics  of,  15, 16. 
three  sections  of,  16-23. 

X. 

Xerxes,  178-181. 
at  Salamis,  179. 

Y. 

Yellow  Men  (see  MONGOLS). 
Yemen,  no,  113. 


Zend,  140,  190. 
Zend-Avesta,  142,  190. 
Ziggurat,  33  (?  Ziggurar). 
Zoan,  58,  60. 

tablet,  10. 

Zodiac,  Signs  of  the,  28,  49. 
Zopyrus,  171,  172. 
Zoroaster,  18,  142,  189,  206. 


(9) 


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dry,  scientific  treatise  on  the  subject.  It  might  be  said  to  re- 
semble Proctor's  celebrated  "Other  Worlds  than  Ours" 
brought  up  to  date.  The  last  chapter,  on  "  How  to  Find  the 
Planets,"  is  unique  and  should  prove  very  useful. 

Pleasures  of  the  Telescope. 

A  Descriptive  Guide  for  Amateur  Astronomers  and  all  Lovers  of 
the  Stars.  Illustrated  with  charts  of  the  heavens  and  with  draw- 
ings of  the  planets  and  charts  of  the  moon.  8vo.  Cloth,  $1,50. 

"  This  is  a  book  which  will  give  intense  pleasure  to  everyone  who 
uses  it  and  follows  its  clear  instructions."  —  Louisville  Courier- 
Journal. 

"  Every  person  of  culture  should  possess  at  least  a  passing  ac- 
quaintance with  the  planets,  stars,  and  constellations.  With  a  little 
patience  and  comparatively  small  effort  Mr.  Serviss's  new  book  will 
enable  anyone  to  obtain  this  knowledge." — Los  Angeles  Herald. 

Astronomy  with  an  Opera-Glass. 

A  Popular  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  the  Starry  Heavens 
with  the  Simplest  of  Optical  Instruments.  8vo.  Cloth,  $1.50. 

u  We  are  glad  to  welcome  this  popular  introduction  to  the  study 
of  the  heavens.  .  .  .  There  could  hardly  be  a  more  pleasant  road 
to  astronomical  knowledge  than  it  affords.  ...  A  child  may 
understand  the  text,  which  reads  more  like  a  collection  of  anecdotes 
than  anything  else,  but  this  does  not  mar  its  scientific  value.  "-Nature. 

D.APPLETON  AND  COMPANY,    NEW   YORK. 


THE   STORY   OF   THE   WEST  SERIES, 

Edited  by  RIPLEY  HITCHCOCK, 

The  Story  of  the  Trapper. 

By  A.  C.  LAUT,  Author  of  "  Heralds  of  Empire."   Illustrated 
by  Heming.    121110.   Cloth,  $1.25  net ;  postage,  12  cents  additional. 

u  A  delightfully  spirited  book." — Brooklyn  Eagle.  \ 

"  A  rarely  instructive  and  entertaining  book." — New  York  World. 
"Unexpectedly  good." — Boston  Herald. 


OTHER  VOLUMES. 

Illustrated.     lamo.     Cloth,  each,  $1.50. 

The  Story  of  the  Soldier. 

By  General  G.  A.  FORSYTH,  U.  S.  Army  (retired).  Illustrated 
by  R.  F.  Zogbaum. 

The  Story  of  the  Railroad. 

By  CY  WARM  AN,  Author  of  "The  Express  Messenger,"  etc. 
With  Maps  and  many  Illustrations  by  B.  West  Clinedinst  and 
from  photographs. 

The  Story  of  the  Cowboy. 

By  E.  HOUGH,  Author  of  "  The  Singing  Mouse  Stories,"  etc. 
Illustrated  by  William  L.  Wells  and  C.  M.  Russell. 

"Mr.  Hough  is  to  be  thanked  for  having  written  so  excellent  a  book. 
The  cowboy  story,  as  this  author  has  told  it,  will  be  the  cowboy's  fitting 
eulogy.  This  volume  will  be  consulted  in  years  to  come  as  an  authority 
on  past  conditions  of  the  far  West.." — New  York  Times. 

The  Story  of  the  Mine. 

As  illustrated  by  the  Great  Comstock  Lode  of  Nevada.  By 
CHARLES  HOWARD  SHINN. 

"The  author  has  written  a  book  not  alone  full  of  information,  but 
replete  with  the  true  romance  of  the  American  mine." — New  York  Times. 

The  Story  of  the  Indian. 

By  GEORGE  BIRD  GRINNELL,  Author  of  "  Pawnee  Hero 
Stories,"  "  Blackfoot  Lodge  Tales,"  etc. 

"Only  an  author  qualified  by  personal  experience  could  offer  us  a 
profitable  study  of  a  race  so  alien  from  our  own  as  is  the  Indian  in 
thought,  feeling,  and  culture.  Only  long  association  with  Indians  can 
enable  a  white  man  measurably  to  comprehend  their  thoughts  and  enter 
into  their  feelings.  Such  association  has  been  Mr.  GrinneH's." — New 
York  Sun. 

D.  APPLETON   AND   COMPANY,    NEW  YORK. 


LITERATURES     OF     THE    WORLD. 

Edited  by  EDMUND  GOSSE, 

Hon.  M.A.  of  Trinity  College,  Cambridge. 

A  series  of  attractive  volumes  dealing  with  the  history  of  literature  in 
each  country.  Each  volume  will  contain  about  three  hundred  and  fifty 
i2mo  pages,  and  will  treat  of  an  entire  literature,  giving  a  uniform  im- 
pression of  its  development,  history,  and  character,  and  of  its  relation  to 
previous  and  to  contemporary  work. 

Each     J2mo,    Cloth. 

NOW  READY. 

Ancient  Greek  Literature.     By  GILBERT  MURRAY,  M.A.,  Professor 
of  Greek  in  the  University  of  Glasgow.     $1.50. 

French    Literature.      By  EDWARD   DOWDEN,   D.C.L.,    LL.D.,    Pro- 
fessor of  English  Literature  at  the  University  of  Dublin.     $1.50. 

Modern  English  Literature.     By  EDMUND  GOSSE.     $1.50. 

Italian    Literature.      By   RICHARD   GARNETT,  C.B.,   LL.D.,    Keeper 
of  Printed  Books  in  the  British  Museum.     $1.50. 

Spanish    Literature.      By  J.   FITZMAURICE-KELLY,   Member  of   the 
Spanish  Academy.     $1.50. 

Japanese  Literature.     By  W.  G.  ASTON,  C.M.G.,  M.A.,  late  Acting 
Secretary  at  the  British  Legation,  Tokio.     $1.50. 

Russian  Literature.     By  K.  WALISZEWSKI.    $1.50. 

Sanskrit    Literature.     By  A.  A.  MACDONELL,  M.A.,  Deputy  Boden 
Professor  of  Sanskrit  at  the  University  of  Oxford.     $1.50. 

Chinese  Literature.     By  HERBERT  A   GILES,  A.M.,  LL.D.  (Aberd.), 
Professor  of  Chinese  in  the  University  of  Cambridge.     $1.50. 

Arabic   Literature.     By  CLEMENT   HUART,  Secretary  Interpreter  for 
Oriental  Languages  to  the  French  Government.     $1.25  net. 

American    Literature.      By  Prof.  W.  P.  TRENT,  of  Columbia  Uni- 
versity.    $1.40  net. 

Hungarian    Literature.     By  FREDERICK  REIDL,  Professor  of  Han 
garian  Literature  in  the  University  of  Budapest.    $1.50  net. 

In  Preparation. 

Latin  Literature.  By  MARCUS  DIMSDALE,  M.A.,  Cambridge. 
German  Literature.  By  CALVIN  THOMAS,  LL.D.,  Columbia. 
Hebrew  Literature.  By  Prof.  PHILIPPE  BERGER,  Institut  de  France. 

D.     APPLETON    AND    COMPANY,     NEW    YORK. 


FOR  STUDENTS  OF  MUSIC 

Musical  Education. 

By  A;  LAVIGNAC.  Translated  by  ESTHER  SIN- 
GLETON, Author  of  "  Social  New  York  Under  the 
Georges."  Large  i2mo.  Cloth,  uncut,  gilt  top, 
$2.00  net ;  postage  additional. 

M.  Lavignac's  book  is  written  in  a  scholarly  as  well  as  a 
simple  style,  that  makes  it  at  once  convincing,  authoritative, 
and  useful  to  the  student  «and  the  accomplished  musician. 
Moreover,  he  has  strengthened  his  own  point  of  view  and 
opinions  with  citations  from  the  most  famous  writers  on  edu- 
cational subjects  and  virtuoso  musicians,  such  as  Schumann, 
Berlioz,  Rubinstein,  etc.,  whose  names  carry  weight.  Fre- 
quently he  has  thrown  in  an  anecdote  that  illuminates  the 
subject  in  question  and  lightens  the  serious  reasoning  with 
a  humorous  touch  that  is  particularly  his  own — as  will  be 
recognized  by  those  who  have  read  his  other  books.  In 
fact,  it  is  this  peculiar  combination  of  knowledge,  serious- 
ness, and  playfulness  that  have  contributed  toward  making 
M.  Lavignac's  reputation  in  America. 

"A  much-needed  book  on  musical  pedagogics." — Boston  Daily 
A  dvertiser. 

uThe  methods  and  plans  suggested  and  the  hints  given  are  admit 
able,  and  the  work  is  equally  well  adapted  for  the  use  of  the  teacher 
and  the  adult  pupil." — The  Orpheitm 

UM.  Lavignac  is  thoroughly  competent  to  discuss  the  broad  theme 
outlined  by  the  title  of  his  book.  There  is  not  a  corner  of  the  great 
field  into  which  he  does  nor  go  with  suggestive  and  helpful  results 
everywhere.  Even  the  slightest  detail  is  given  attention." — George 
Seibet  in  the  Pittsburg  Gazette 

"  It  is  packed  with  the  most  valuable  thoughts  and  ideas.  The  style 
is  simple,  clear,  and  logical,  and  every  page  is  readable.  It  is  a.  book 
that  will  aid  the  cause  of  musical  education  greatly,  and  we  shall  have 
frequent  occasion  to  refer  our  readers  and  inquirers  on  musical  matters 
to  its  contents." — The  Etrtde. 

"  A  remarkable  book  The  subject  is  treated  with  such  breadth 
and  philosophic  thoroughness,  and  at  the  same  time  such  practical 
directness,  that,  it  is  surely  an  achievement  that  stands  by  itself.  M. 
Lavignac  has  definite  and  concrete  ideas  that  are  the  fruit  of  long  expe- 
rience, and  he  has  an  exact  knowledge  of  all  the  different  branches  of 
music." — Neiv  York  Times. 

D.    APPLETON    AND   COMPANY,   NEW  YORK. 


By  JOHN  BACH  McMASTER,  Ph.D, 


History  of  the  People  of  the  United  States, 

From  the  Revolution  to  the  Civil  War.  By  JOHN 
BACH  MCMASTER.  To  be  completed  in  seven  vol- 
umes. Vols.  I,  II,  III,  IV,  V,  and  VI  now  ready. 
8vo.  Cloth,  gilt  top.  Each,  $2.50  net. 

*'  A  history  sui  generis  which  has  made  and  will  keep  its  own 
place  in  our  literature." — Neva  York  Evening  Post. 

"  Those  who  can  read  between  the  lines  may  discover  in  these 
pages  constant  evidences  of  care  and  skill  and  faithful  labor,  of 
which  the  old-time  superficial  essayists,  compiling  library  notes 
on  dates  and  striking  events,  had  no  conception."- -Philadelphia 
Telegraph. 

"  Professor  McMaster  has  told  us  what  r.o  other  historians  have 
told.  .  .  .  The  skill,  the  animation,  the  brightness,  the  force,  and 
the  charm  with  which  he  arrays  the  facts  before  us  are  such  that 
we  can  hardly  conceive  of  more  interesting  reading  lor  an  Ameri- 
can citizen  who  cares  to  know  the  nature  of  those  causes  which 
have  made  not  only  him  but  his  environment  and  the  opportuni- 
ties life  has  given  him  what  they  are."— Aew  York  limes. 

With  the  Fathers. 

Studies  in  the  History  of  the  United  States.  8vo. 
Cloth,  $1.50. 

"  Professor  McMaster's  essays  possess  in  their  diversity  a 
breadth  which  covers  most  of  the  topics  which  are  current  as  well 
as  historical,  and  each  is  so  scholarly  in  treatment  and  profound 
in  judgment  that  the  importance  of  their  place  in  the  library  of 
political  history  can  not  be  gainsaid." — Washington  Times. 

"  The  book  is  of  great  practical  value,  as  many  of  the  essays 
throw  a  broad  light  over  living  questions  of  the  day.  Professor 
McMaster  has  a  clear,  simple  style  that  is  delightful.  His  facts 
are  gathered  with  great  care,  and  admirably  interwoven  to  im- 
press the  subject  under  discussion  upon  the  mind  of  the  reader." 
— Chicago  Inter-Ocean. 

D.  APPLETON   AND   COMPANY,   NEW   YORK. 


A  PRACTICAL  BOOK  BY  A  PRACTICAL  MAN. 

The  Work  of  Wall  Street. 

By  SERENO  S.  PRATT.  i2mo.  Cloth,  $1.25 
net  ;  postage,  12  cents  additional. 

"  In  '  The  Work  of  Wall  Street '  Sereno  S.  Pratt  has  not 
contented  himself  with  the  authorship  of  the  best  book  pub- 
lished on  the  mechanism,  personality,  function,  operations, 
and  ramifications  of  the  financial  Isis  and  Osiris  of  the  west- 
ern world,  but  has  written  it  in  a  style  which  for  clearness 
and  interest  is  fascinating.  He  has  drawn  the  veil  from  what 
to  so  many  has  been  a  mystery,  so  that  one  may  easily  see 
the  wheels  revolve,  almost  hear  them  click.  .  .  .  Those 
whose  libraries  or  tastes  include  the  works  of  such  writers  as 
Bryce,  Jevon?,  Sumner,  and  White  will  surely  discover  a 
niche  beside  them  for  '  The  Work  of  Wall  Street.'  " — ALBERT 

C.  STEVENS  (former  Editor  Bradstreet V )  in  Newark  Even- 
ing News. 

11 A  book  that  can  not  be  too  highly  recommended  to 
those  who  desire  to  know  what  Wall  Street  is  and  how  it 
does  its  work." — Wall  Street  Journal. 

"  A  well-written  and  generally  thorough  digest  of  the 
operations  of  the  financial  district." — New  York  Sun. 

"  It  has  no  equal." — New  York  Press. 

"  The  most  fascinating  presentation  possible  of  a  subject 
of  the  utmost  interest  to  business  men  and  students  of  eco- 
nomics. ' ' —  Chicago  Record- Her  aid. 

"  Clear,  simple,  direct,  straightforward,  impartial,  and, 
above  all,  informing.  .  .  .  Mr.  Pratt  has  done  a  real  service  in 
describing  the  things  which  the  stock  exchange  accomplishes, 
and  its  usefulness  to  the  nation  at  large." — Boston  Herald. 

"  The  author  knows  the  ins  and  outs  of  the  New  York 
stock  market,  and  the  book  is  veritably  a  mine  of  knowledge 
about  matters  very  little  understood  by  the  public.  .  .  . 
Particularly  valuable  are  Mr.  Pratt's  explanations  of  the 
jargons  of  the  street — of  words  and  phrases  which  to  most 
persons  not  actively  engaged  in  the  stock  business  are  quite 
unintelligible." — Philadelphia  Ledger . 

D.  APPLETON   AND    COMPANY,   NEW  YORK. 


BOOKS  BY  DR.  EDWARD  EGGLESTON. 
The  Beginners  of  a  Nation. 

A  History  of  the  Source  and  Rise  of  the  Earliest 
English  Settlements  in  America,  with  Special  Reference 
to  the  Life  and  Character  of  the  People.  The  first  vol- 
ume in  A  History  of  Life  in  the  United  States 
Small  8vo.  Gilt  top,  uncut,  with  Maps.  Cloth,  $1.50. 

"The  delightful  style,  the  clear  flow  of  the  narrative,  the  philo- 
sophical tone,  and  the  able  analysis  of  men  and  events  will  commend 
Mr.  Eggleston's  work  to  earnest  students."—  PJiiladelphia  Public  Ledger. 

"The  work  is  worthy  of  careful  reading,  not  only  because  of  the 
author's  ability  as  a  literary  artist,  but  because  of  his  conspicuous  pro- 
ficiency in  interpreting  the  causes  of  and  changes  in  American  life  and 
character." — Boston  journal. 

"Few  works  on  the  period  which  it  covers  can  compare  with  this  in 
point  of  mere  literary  attractiveness,  and  we  fancy  that  many  to  whom 
its  scholarly  value  will  not  appeal  will  read  the  volume  with  interest 
and  delight." — New  York  Evening  Post. 

"Written  with  a  firm  grasp  of  the  theme,  inspired  by  ample  knowl- 
edge, and  made  attractive  by  a  vigorous  and  resonant  style,  the  book  will 
receive  much  attention.  It  is  a  great  theme  the  author  has  taken  up,  and 
he  grasps  it  with  the  confidence  of  a  master." — New  York  Times. 

The  Transit  of  Civilization, 

From  England  to  America  in  the  Seventeenth  Cen- 
tury. Uniform  with  "  The  Beginners  of  a  Nation." 
Small  8vo.  Gilt  top,  uncut.  Cloth,  $1.50. 

"  It  places  the  whole  history  of  colonial  life  in  an  entirely  new  and 
fascinating  light." — New  York  Commercial  Advertiser. 

"No  such  account  has  ever  been  given  of  the  colonists,  and  no  such 
view  exists  of  England  in  the  seventeenth  century." — Brooklyn  Eagle, 

"This  is  beyond  question  one  of  the  most  important  examples  of 
culture  history  ever  published  in  this  country.  Many  of  the  theme.0 
which  are  treated  have  never  been  presented  before  in  anything  like  an 
adequate  manner." — Philadelphia  Press. 

D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY,  NEW  YORK. 


THE  PERENNIAL  CONFLICT. 

The  Warfare  of  Science  with  Theology. 

A  History  of  the  Warfare  of  Science  with  The- 
ology in  Christendom.  By  ANDREW  D.  WHITE, 
LL.  D.  (Yale),  L.  H.  D.  (Col.),  Ph.  D.  (Jena),  late 
President  and  Professor  of  History  at  Cornell  Uni- 
versity. In  two  volumes,  8vo.  Cloth,  $J'.oo. 

"Able,  scholarly,  critical,  impartial  in  tone  and  exhaustive  in 
treatment." — Boston  Advertiser. 

"The  most  valuable  contribution  that  has  yet  been  made  to 
the  history  of  the  conflicts  between  the  theologists  and  the  scien- 
tists."— Buffalo  Commercial. 

"  A  work  which  constitutes  in  many  ways  the  most  instructive 
review  that  has  ever  been  written  of  the  evolution  of  human 
knowledge  in  its  conflict  with  dogmatic  belief." — Boston  Beacon. 

"The  same  liberal  spirit  that  marked  his  public  life  is  seen  in 
the  pages  of  his  book,  giving  it  a  zest  and  interest  that  can  not 
fail  to  secure  for  it  hearty  commendation  and  honest  praise." — 
Philadelphia  Piiblic  Ledger. 

"  Such  an  honest  and  thorough  treatment  of  the  subject  in  all 
its  bearings  that  it  will  carry  weight  and  be  accepted  as  an  author- 
ity in  tracing  the  process  by  which  the  Lcientific  method  has  come 
to  be  supreme  in  modern  thought  and  life. " — Boston  Herald. 

"The  story  of  the  struggle  of  searchers  after  truth  with  the 
organized  forces  of  ignorance,  bigotry,  and  superstition  is  the 
most  inspiring  chapter  in  the  whole  history  of  mankind.  1'hat 
story  has  never  been  better  told  than  by  the  ex- President  of  Cor- 
nell University  in  these  two  volumes." — London  Daily  Chronicle. 

"It  is  graphic,  lucid,  even-tempered— never  bitter  nor  vindic- 
tive. No  student  of  human  progress  should  fail  to  read  these  vol- 
umes. While  they  have  about  them  the  fascination  of  a  well- told 
tale,  they  are  also  crowded  with  the  facts  of  history  that  have  had 
a  tremendous  bearing  upon  the  development  of  the  race."— 
Brooklyn  Eagle. 

D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY,  NEW  YORK. 


AN  AMERICAN  ADMIRAL. 


Forty-five  Years  Under  the  Flag. 

By  WINFIELD  SCOTT  SCHLEY,  Rear- 
Admiral,  U.  S.  N.  Illustrated.  8vo.  Cloth, 
uncut  edges  and  gilt  top,  $3.00  net. 

About  one-third  of  Admiral  Schley's  vol- 
ume is  devoted  to  the  Spanish  War,  in  which 
he  became  so  great  a  figure.  He  tells  his 
own  story  in  simple  and  effective  words. 

Admiral  Schley  left  the  naval  academy 
just  before  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War, 
and  saw  service  with  Farragut  in  the  Gulf. 
Three  chapters  are  devoted  to  Civil  War 
events.  He  describes  most  thrillingly  the 
storming  of  the  forts  on  the  occasion  of  the 
opening  of  Corea  to  the  commerce  of  the 
world.  The  book  will  appeal  to  every  true- 
hearted  American. 

"  Rear-Admiral  W.  S.  Schley's  '  Forty-five  Years 
Under  the  Flag '  is  the  most  valuable  contribution 
to  the  history  of  the  American  navy  that  has  been 
written  in  many  a  year." — New  York  Times. 

D.     APPLETON     AND     COMPANY,     NEW     YORK. 


YA  0337' 


